Education Law

With its unparalleled experience in education law and the related complexities, Carney, Kelehan, Bresler, Bennett and Scherr is uniquely positioned to assist school systems in responding to a wide variety of legal issues that traditionally have been viewed as outside the realm of “school law.”  

CarneyKelehan has established itself as the premier school law firm in Maryland, having provided legal services to public school systems for more than three decades.  CarneyKelehan serves as Board Counsel or General Counsel to seven Maryland school systems:  Montgomery County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Wicomico County, Somerset County and Washington County.  Additionally, CarneyKelehan serves several other school systems across Maryland by providing specialized services as needed.

CarneyKelehan also has a demonstrated record of excellence in the field of special education law.  Our lawyers have represented numerous school systems across Maryland in a variety of special education matters such as tuition reimbursement, extended school year services, disability coding, least restrictive environment, and compensatory education services, to name but a few.  The Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE) Legal Services Association has honored the firm’s education law aptitude by selecting it to serve as a participant on the association’s legal panel for member boards of education.

CarneyKelehan’s education law attorneys represent public school systems, private schools, and higher education institutions on the full range of education-related issues including:

  • Complaints from the public
  • Copyright
  • Construction
  • Employee grievances
  • Employee discipline and discharge
  • Employment discrimination
  • Equal Access Act
  • Ethics issues
  • Family Medical Leave Act
  • First Amendment/Free Speech/Religion
  • Homeless students
  • Land acquisition
  • Open Meetings Act
  • Public Information Act/Freedom of Information Act
  • Policy development, review and revision
  • Procurement
  • Sexual Harassment
  • Student records/FERPA
  • Superintendent contracts
  • Search and seizure
  • Special education
  • Student rights
  • Student discipline
  • Tort/negligence claims
  • Union negotiations
  • Use of school facilities
  • Workers Compensation