Our education practice group advises higher education institutions, research institutions, educational associations, education technology companies, institutional service providers, independent schools, youth serving organizations, and investors in a complex and frequently changing regulatory environment.
- Higher Education and Research Institutions
- K-12 Public and Independent Schools
- Youth Serving Organizations
- Title IX
Higher Education and Research Institutions
Our higher education and research institutions practice group serves a diverse array of institutions, including flagship research institutions, non-profit and for-profit colleges and universities, educational associations, education technology companies, institutional service providers, and investors. Our lawyers have worked for many years in private practice supporting educational institutions and as in-house counsel in both large universities and start-up organizations. Attorneys on our team actively participate in the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA) and the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). We provide advice, counseling, and training regarding:
- The Higher Education Act, and implementing regulations; state laws and regulations; and accreditation
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Civil rights laws, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and state civil rights laws
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Privacy laws, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
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Student rights and responsibilities
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Faculty tenure and academic freedom
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Research integrity
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Athletics
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Institutional and faculty governance
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Internal investigations
With our deep knowledge of educational institutions, we work closely with attorneys in many of Potomac Law Group’s practice areas to provide the full range of legal services, including:
K-12 Public and Independent Schools
We represent independent schools from pre-kindergarten through high school, as well as organizations that provide school-related services. We advise on enrollment matters, including applications for admission, enrollment contracts, tuition refund programs, and termination of enrollment. We prepare student and family handbooks, faculty handbooks, and employee handbooks. We advise regarding student rights and responsibilities as well as study abroad programs. Attorneys on our team actively participate in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the National Business Officers Association (NBOA).
With our deep knowledge of educational institutions, we work closely with attorneys in many of Potomac Law Group’s practice areas to provide the full range of legal services, including:
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Corporate, including general commercial contracts and transactions
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Employment, including employment litigation, advice and counseling, investigations, and training
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Energy and environmental, including agreements related to research and development.
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Export Controls, including advice and counseling and investigations
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Food and Drug, including clinical trials
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Government Contracts, including False Claims Act and foreign influence
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Health Care, including hospitals
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Immigration
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Insurance Recovery and Risk Management
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Intellectual Property, including patents trademarks, and copyright
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Internal Investigations
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Litigation and Government Investigations
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Privacy and Cybersecurity
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Taxation, including non-profit taxation
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Training
Youth Serving Organizations
Our Camps and Youth Programs practice helps overnight and day camps, retreat centers, youth enrichment programs, after-school and extra-curricular programs, registration and technology providers, camp industry associations, and related businesses address a wide range of legal needs. Our deep bench of experienced attorneys work in consultation with one another across Potomac Law Group’s diverse practice areas. Together, we provide advice and counsel regarding:
- Employment issues, including wage and hour laws, personnel policies, employee handbooks, employment contracts, employee training, employee background checks, drug testing, and hiring procedures.
- Internal investigations related to mandatory reporting obligations, harassment and discrimination, and other camper, student and staff misconduct.
- Crisis management and strategic communications in challenging, unforeseen circumstances.
- Contractual matters, including facility rentals, vendor management, camper and student participation agreements, and waivers of liability.
- Policies and procedures, including parent and camper handbooks, allergy protocols, medication management, camper supervision, abuse prevention, and internal reporting.
- Private camp ownership transitions, including purchases and sales, partnership agreements, mergers, financing and bank relationships, and related issues.
- Nonprofit governance, including bylaws, conflicts of interest policies, and boards of directors.
- Compliance with state camp codes and related regulations, permitting and licensing requirements, and the interplay of American Camp Association standards.
- Data privacy and security, including legal compliance, best practices, and breach response.
- Immigration, including J-1 cultural exchange visas for visiting staff, taxation of visiting staff salaries, international volunteers at nonprofit organizations, and related issues.
- Taxation, including focused knowledge of nonprofit tax laws, enrollment fee tax exemptions, and other tax matters.
- Litigation, alternative dispute resolution, and oversight of insurance-provided defense attorneys in covered matters.
Title IX
Our attorneys have deep and broad knowledge of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, especially sexual harassment, from the 2001 and 2011 Dear Colleague Letters through the 2020 regulations. We provide the following services related to Title IX:
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Internal Investigations
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Policy-drafting
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Training, including train-the-investigator
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Advice and counseling
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Drafting comments on proposed regulations
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Serving as hearing panel members at live hearings
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Responding to agency charges and demand letters