NC Education Lawyer Blog

As a student-side higher education attorney, I view campus controversies through two lenses at once: law and institutional responsibility. Not every harmful editorial choice is unlawful. Not every offensive joke creates liability. Nonetheless, universities and the organizations operating within them do not get to ignore the legal and policy environment in which their speech lands. That is why two April Fools pieces published by  The Daily Tar Heel  deserve serious criticism.

As a student-side education attorney in North Carolina, I hear a version of the same story over and over again. A student is harassed, excluded, denied support, or discriminated against at school. The family reports it. The district minimizes the problem or delays action. And the parents are left searching for someone, anyone, who can step in and enforce the law. For decades, families often turned to the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) when local sy

As a student-side education attorney, I read Behind Locked Doors – Inside North Carolina’s Juvenile Detention Centers with alarm, but not surprise. The report documents what many of us who represent vulnerable children already know: when young people enter detention, their educational rights often become an afterthought, and for students with disabilities, those rights may disappear almost entirely. The report, issued by Disability Rights North Carolina after visits to every

North Carolina has enacted a new statewide education law ( HB 959 )that significantly changes how students use cell phones and access social media during the school day. While individual school districts will still control many details, this law establishes mandatory minimum requirements that all public schools must follow. As an education attorney, I am often asked how these types of laws affect students’ rights, parental expectations, and school obligations. Below is a plai

For Immediate Release Lawsuits Filed Against Wake County School Board for Abuse and Discrimination Against Students with Disabilities...

On May 22, 2025, a federal judge issued a major ruling that directly affects the future of the U.S. Department of Education (ED)—and, by...

The use of cell phones in schools has become a contentious issue in recent years, as educators and policymakers grapple with balancing...

What is the School-to-Prison Pipeline The school-to-prison pipeline refers to policies and procedures that encourage the presence of law...

Can private schools discriminate? Our office is regularly contacted about discrimination in private schools; specifically whether private...

It is 2019. The world is an interesting place. Sadly, the reality is that people, including our children, are being targeted due to...