Parents’ rights: school investigations

School law guru here again! Today’s topic is going to be on parents’ rights in a school investigation. Parents do, in fact, have rights in a school investigation – specifically and most importantly when it impacts students who are minors (under the age of 18). It is very important that parents look at the following areas because these will impact almost every one of these scenarios:

1. First, parents should refer to the school board website or the school’s catalog to see what rights you have under various situations. More often than not, parents do not do this and therefore when they contact the school they are doing this completely blind without knowing what rights they have to assert in situations. 
2. Secondly, and more importantly; it would be prudent that a parent consults with a school or education attorney, such as the attorneys at the Law Offices of Steve Rossi P.A. The reason, again, for this is that most schools do have attorneys, or general counsels, that they can confer with and rely upon to assist them with school and education law issues. As a parent, you could be at a disadvantage if the school has an attorney to confer and review information with, whereas you do not. 
3. Often, parents will speak to administrators and individuals in the school district, but they will never confirm the information with an email. This is extremely important because time and time again, the schools will come back and say “Well, I don’t recall that conversation”, or “That is not exactly what was said”. With an email confirmation, it would be much more difficult for them to dispute your conversation.

These are just some general points and guidelines that you can utilize as a parent involving a school or education law issue. For these and other reasons, it is best to seek advice and counsel from an experienced school attorney to answer questions and develop the best strategy.

 The above is a very general overview. There are other factors that can interplay with this. You should seek out an education attorney that has education law experience dealing with these type of matters. This article is not meant to be relied upon as legal advice.  Laws and policies can change. Seek an experienced attorney for the most current and up to date information to assist you in this or any legal matter. Call us for a FREE CONSULTATION