On January 15, 2013, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted a motion to dismiss filed by MGO attorneys Ernie Trakas and Betsey Helfrich on behalf of firm client Phelps County Bank (“PCB”). The case, Steelman v. Phelps Co. Bank,...
TITLE IX v. FERPA: Which Law Trumps Following a Sexual Harassment Investigation – By: Betsey Helfrich
Published by MoASBO, February 2013 Imagine the following scenario: a student makes a claim that he has been sexually harassed by another student in your district. Per Board of Education policy, you follow grievance procedures and after investigating, determine that...
Department of Education Absolves Potosi R-III in Discrimination Case
On January 25, 2013, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law exonerating MGO client Potosi R-III School District of all charges that it discriminated against a student based on the student’s...
Recent 8th Circuit Case Law: Court Sides With School District In Missouri Student Speech Case – By: Wendy Kasten
Published by MARE, January 2013 In October, the United States Court of Appeals in the Eighth Circuit reversed a District Court’s decision to grant an injunction to two Missouri students who claimed that their school district violated their First Amendment free speech...
MGO Named Best Law Firm for 2013
For the third year in a row U.S. News and Best Lawyers have named Mickes Goldman O’Toole, LLC as one of the “Best Law Firms” in the country, and the only one in St. Louis, in the area of Education Law. The only other firm so recognized in Missouri other than ours is a...
MGO Creative Training Solutions – CIPA Training
Introducing MGO Creative Training Solutions. CTS was established by school law attorneys to provide training solutions for school district students and staff, in the form of animated videos, handouts and worksheets. The Federal Communications Commission released a...
Building for the Future: A Guide to School Construction – By: Conor Neusel & Natalie Hoernschemeyer
Published by MoASBO, July 2012 I. Introduction Regardless of the size, construction and maintenance projects can cause tremendous headaches for school administrators. In addition to making aesthetic and financially conscientious decisions, administrators...
Court Finds In Favor of District in Illinois Human Right Act Suit
Mickes Goldman O'Toole attorneys Christi Flaherty and Wendy Kasten were able to obtain a defendants’ verdict in a case against a Madison County, Illinois School District. In this case, a substitute teacher’s aide, who had been employed by the District as a substitute...
Hoernschemeyer and Boggiano Successfully Defend Lawsuit: No Constitutional Right to Play Sports
Natalie Hoernschemeyer and Wendy Boggiano successfully represented a Missouri school district against a lawsuit requesting a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief preventing the school district from declaring two students to be...
The Non-Custodial Parent’s Right to Educational Records – By: Betsey Helfrich
Published by MARE, May 2012 The right of parents to review their children’s educational records is an important right protected by Missouri and federal law. However, sometimes disputes arise regarding who is considered a “parent” that holds this right. This article...