The Administrative and Education Legal Services (AELS) team is dedicated to providing focused and expert legal advice to school sites, Local District offices, and District Divisions and units who are directly involved with schools. Our services are directed to keeping our clients abreast of all legal developments in various areas of education law. Since new laws affecting the education of students are often confusing and many have conflicting requirements, our team of experienced education law professionals provides advice and tools to assist our clients in interpreting and understanding school law issues.

Broadly, the AELS team handles General/Special Education and Student Issues, Certificated and Classified employment issues, Charter Petition review and assessment, and Instruction Reform Models. Specifically, AELS provides preventive legal advice on a wide range of issues surrounding child abuse reporting, child custody, student discipline process, student records and privacy rights, student enrollment, students health and safety, threat assessment; students with disabilities, Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings and Due Process hearings, Section 504 and Title IX guidance, California Department of Education (CDE), Office of Civil Rights (OCR) & Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) complaints, and more.

In addition, the team provides advice, counsel and litigation support related to the discipline and dismissal of both classified and certificated employees.  The team supports clients throughout the District as they navigate the various rules, administrative procedures, and legal processes associated with these efforts.  Team lawyers oversee the review of discipline and termination cases, provide advice regarding appropriate discipline and reassignment of employees, and appear in hearings before the Commission on Professional Competence, the Personnel Commission, and in the case of reductions in force, before an Administrative Law Judge assigned by the Office of Administrative Hearings.  Team lawyers also represent the District in superior court writ and appellate proceedings.

The Administrative and Education Legal Services team is committed to providing the highest quality legal service to our clients in order to support quality and innovative instruction, access for all students, and ensure the equitable treatment of all students and staff.

Our clients include:

• Beyond the Bell
• Charter Schools Division
• Crisis Counseling & Intervention Services
• District Nursing
• Division Adult and Career Education 
• Division of Special Education
• Division of Human Resources
• Division of Instruction
• Early Childhood Education Division
• Educational Service Centers
• iDesign Schools
• Instructional Support Services
• Interscholastic Athletics
• Local Districts
• Los Angeles School Police Department
• Office of Employee Support and Labor Relations
• Office of School Culture, Climate and Safety/District Operations
• Organizational Excellence
• Parent and Community Services
• Office of Data and Accountability
• Student Health & Human Services
• Student Integration Services