Education and School Law

Acting in the capacity of solicitor, labor counsel and special counsel, Beard Legal Group represents more than 50 school districts across Pennsylvania. Our attorneys are experienced in all aspects of education and school law. The Firm represents school districts in matters affecting both students and employees.

We have successfully negotiated hundreds of teacher and support staff contracts and represented school districts throughout the Act procedures of fact finding and voluntary arbitration. With extensive resources for comparative data, we are able to prepare fact finding, voluntary arbitration presentations that are persuasive. We were the first firm in the State to utilize Timed Mediation to successfully negotiate teacher union contracts. This process can result in the settlement of the contract six months before expiration, at a large financial savings to the school district. (See separate section "Timed Mediation" for additional details of this process).

Beard Legal Group has extensive experience dealing with such issues as student discipline hearings, special education litigation, student record disclosures, student complaints, athletic programs and compliance with Title IX, school policy violations by students, searching student lockers, and the interaction of laws protecting minors. Our attorneys have successfully represented many school districts throughout circumstances relating to teacher and staff discipline hearings, furloughs and demotions, veterans' preference litigation, arbitration of employee grievances, employment discrimination and Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board actions.

In addition, the Firm has extensive experience in addressing issues affecting the operation of the school district. We have seasoned attorneys who deal with issues such as transportation of students, school policy development, tax assessment appeals, Sunshine Law, local agency hearings, school prayer, construction of school facilities and securing outside services. The Firm also represents more than one-third of the Commonwealth for coverage of school board directors through their respective insurance carriers.

Beard Legal Group effectively assists school districts in developing and properly distributing press releases, responding to media inquiries and other appropriate communications with the public.