Schedule a Live or Web-Based Training for Your School
Looking for an in-person training, live webinar, or recorded online training for your school? We offer trainings on a wide array of school law topics! Below is a sampling of some of the many live trainings that we offer. Looking for something specific or unique? We are always happy to customize trainings for specific schools, groups, or organizations.
Sample Training Topics
SPECIAL EDUCATION TOPICS
Demystifying Section 504: A Practical Guide to a Puzzling Law
(Full Day – 6 Hours)
From mild anxiety to sheer panic, Section 504 tends to evoke a wide range of emotions in educators and school leaders. If you share in these feelings, don't worry - you are not alone. Section 504 ensures equal access to school programs for students with disabilities, but educators are often fuzzy about exactly what their obligations are under this federal law.
Drafting Defensible IEPs
2-Day Workshop - 12 instructional hours (6 hours per day)
This intensive and interactive (and fun!) 2-day workshop is designed to provide a comprehensive look at common issues related to the IEP process and give participants the tools they need to draft truly effective IEPs.
Educating Students with Medical Needs: 10 Essential Accommodation Considerations for Section 504 Teams
(Half Day - 2.5 Instructional Hours)
Section 504 cases are on the rise, and courts are increasingly examining whether schools are fully accommodating students with disabilities. Are your school’s 504 plans legally defensible? In this session, attorney Erin D. Gilsbach outlines 10 categories of disability-related accommodation that 504 teams need to consider.
Legally-Defensible FBAs & BIPs: A Practical Approach to Gathering Great Data & Creating Comprehensive Documents
(Full-Day – 6 Instructional Hours)
A comprehensive FBA is the basis for a great behavior intervention plan (BIP) or positive behavior support plan (PBSP). So why is it so difficult to find excellent examples? In this full-day, in-person training, school law attorney Erin D. Gilsbach takes a deep-dive into special education caselaw to determine what the courts and hearing officers have said about FBAs and BIPs/PBSPs.
Life After High School: Practical (and Legally Defensible) Transition Planning for Students with Special Needs
(Half Day – 2.5 Instructional Hours)
In this session, attorney and nationally-recognized speaker and professional development trainer, Erin D. Gilsbach, Esq., highlights this important and often-overlooked issue of truly transitioning a student with special needs from high school to college, employment, and everyday adult life.
GENERAL EDUCATION TOPICS
A Legal Guide to ICE Enforcement in Schools
(90 Minutes)
Atty. Gilsbach will provide a detailed analysis of the law regarding the right of undocumented students to attend school, ICE authority to act on school grounds, warrants and ICE enforcement actions, student data privacy and ICE requests for student information, responding to ICE presence on school grounds, the legal implications of obstructing or impeding a lawful ICE enforcement action, providing information to parents and the community, and more.
Family Law for Schools: Who's the "Parent," Who Has Legal Rights, and Why It Matters
(Half Day – 2.5 Hours)
In this session, Atty. Erin D. Gilsbach takes a legally-complex subject and distills it into clear, understandable, and practical information and tools that schools can use to ensure that they are effectively meeting the needs of all students while protecting their rights. This session is ideal for all public and non-public school employees, including public, non-public and charter school teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, school nurses, school psychologists, coaches/activities coordinators, and other school personnel. ALL school employees need this training!
Legally Defensible Practices for Handling Tricky Residency, Enrollment, Attendance and Transportation Issues
(Full Day – 6 Instructional Hours)
This full-day special education law training is designed to help PA schools navigate these tricky topics. This session will address such topics as: Transfer students, Pa residency issues, McKinney-Vento (homeless) protections/requirements, Truancy and Attendance Issues, Enrollment requirements, Hot-topic transportation issues
PTAs, Booster Clubs, Foundations, & Charitable Gifts: Tips & Tools for Legally-Defensible Community-Based Revenue Building
(90 Minutes)
More than ever, schools rely upon the generosity, support, and assistance of 3rd-party nonprofit groups like PTAs, Booster Clubs, and charitable foundations to help fund and operate important school programs. But what happens when a 3rd-party group violates the law?
School Law Boot Camp: A Legal Refresher Course for School Administrators
(2-Day Course – 12 Instructional Hours)
The session covers provides a basic framework for the following areas of law: employment & labor law; student rights & legal obligations to students; technology law; enrollment, transportation, & attendance; and school finance & governance.
Special Ed. Rules for General Ed. Staff
(Half Day – 2.5 Instructional Hours)
In this session, Atty. Erin D. Gilsbach provides essential legal information for regular education staff members. She provides an overview of the areas of liability impacted by regular ed staff and discusses in detail what teachers, counselors, school nurses, administrators, coaches, and other regular ed staff members need to know and do to prevent special education liability.
Additional Training Topics
1:1 Programs, BYOD Initiatives, and Technology in the Classroom
3rd-Party Donors, Booster Clubs, Parent/Teacher Organizations, and Foundations
ADA, Disability Accommodations, and the Interactive Process
ADHD, Emotional Disturbance, Anxiety, and Other Tricky Issues
AI Legal Issues
Acceptable Use Policies and Technology Practices
Addressing Off-Campus Conduct Issues
Administrator School Law Boot Camp
Advertising on School Grounds
Attendance, Absenteeism, Truancy, & School Avoidance
Audio/Video Recording in Schools
Board Policy and Administrative Regulation Development
Bullying / Cyberbullying
Bullying and Students with Special Needs
CIPA / COPPA
Child Abuse / Mandated Reporting
Child Find
Clearances / Mandated Reporting / Background History Checks
Communicating with Parents and Students: A Legal Guide for Educators
Conducting Defensible IEP Meetings
Conducting Legally-Defensible Investigations
Confidentiality and Student Records
Contractors, Vendors, and other 3rd-Party Providers
Copyright & Intellectual Property Law for Schools
Crisis Planning and Working with Law Enforcement
Custody and Family Law Issues
Cybersecurity and Schools
Defensible Communication Practices for School Personnel & School Boards
Defensibly Handling Employee Misconduct
Drug/Alcohol Testing for Students
Drug/Alcohol Testing in the Workplace
Due Process Hearings
Due Process Mock Hearing
Educator Misconduct and Mandated Reporting
Employee Evaluations
Employee Speech / 1st Amendment Issues
Employees and Social Media
Employment Law Basics
Employment Law for School Administrators
Employment Records
FMLA Leave
Field Trips, Extracurricular Activities, and School-Sponsored Events
Functional Behavioral Assessments (FBAs) and Behavior Intervention Plans (BIPs)
Fundamentals of Special Ed. Discipline
Gifted Education Basics
Gifted IEP (GIEP) Writing Workshop
Gifted Placement and Programming
Gifted Procedures
Hiring and Firing Basics
Homeless and Foster Care Students
Hot-Topic School Employment Law Issues
Hot-Topic Technology Issues
ICE Enforcement in Schools
IDEA Basics
IDEA Evaluations
IDEA Evaluations and Eligibility
IDEA vs. Section 504
IEP Meetings
IEP Writing Workshop
IEPs and IDEA Placements
Immigration Law, ESL, and Migrant Students
Immunizations
Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs)
Legal Update for Special Education Administrators
Legal Update for Technology Directors
Legally-Defensible Practices for Using 3rd-Party Technology
Livestreaming Events and Classes
Medical Marijuana and Its Use in the School Setting
Naloxone, Epi-Pens, and Student Emergency Services
Nursing / Student Health Issues
Parent Rights and Responsibilities
Progressive Employee Discipline
Protecting and Capitalizing upon the School’s Intellectual Property
Recognizing and Addressing Discrimination Issues
Records Retention Workshop
Records Retention and Destruction
Religious Discrimination
Religious Rights of Students and Employees
Residency / Enrollment
Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) Issues
Safe Schools, Special Ed., and Dangerous Students
School Law for Athletic Directors
School Law for Board Members
School Law for Building Administrators
School Law for Charter Schools
School Law for Guidance Counselors
School Law for SAP Teams
School Law for School Nurses
School Law for Special Education Administrators
School Law for Teachers
Search and Seizure
Section 504 Basics
Section 504 Evaluations and Eligibility
Section 504: Evaluation and Plan Development
Sexual Violence on Campus
Special Ed. Discipline Workshop
Special Ed. Law for Regular Ed. Teachers
Special Education Caselaw Update
Student Confidentiality for Educators
Student First Amendment / Free Speech
Student Fundraising
Student Investigations
Student Mental Health Issues
Student Records / Student Data Privacy
Suicide Awareness & Prevention
Sunshine Act Primer
Title IX & Athletics
Transgender Students
Transportation
Use of School Facilities by 3rd-Party Groups
Website Accessibility
When Do We Need a Nurse?
Working with Volunteers & the Community