Articles Posted in Education

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Good Georgia Education Lawyer sued Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson and DeKalb County School District on behalf of our client for violations of the Open Records Act in relation to a fair dismissal hearing where a graduation coach was non-renewed due to a reduction in force.

The complaint alleged that Defendant Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson thwarted the Georgia Open Records Act by withholding the production of public documents: text messages contained within her DeKalb County School District issued cellular phone. The complaint also alleged that the Superintendent made representations that she would be willing to offer Plaintiff a job and 11 (eleven) other of Plaintiff counsel’s clients who had been “RIF’d” (laid off due to a reduction in force) in exchange for Plaintiff being willing to withdraw her Georgia Open Records Act demand for the Superintendent’s text messages.

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Williams Oinonen LLC and nine other Georgia Trial Lawyers Association firms hosted a career mixer event for Emory Law students at the law school. The event was sponsored by all ten law firms, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Emory University School of Law’s Litigation Society, Tort & Insurance Society, the Center for Advocacy & Dispute Resolution & the Center for Professional Development.

Ms. Julie Oinonen and Mr. Mario Williams, partners at Williams Oinonen LLC are also fellows at Emory Law School’s Center for Advocacy & Dispute Resolution.

The purpose was to expose Emory Law students to the Plaintiff practice and make connections for future employment. Williams Oinonen LLC is currently open to interviewing 2012 graduates who may be interested in an Emory Law Fellowship position with their firm.

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teacher.JPGGood Georgia Lawyer was pleased to save the job of a Clayton County Public School teacher who had his contract non-renewed. Fortunately, we were able to aggressively intervene and the school system rescinded the non-renewal of the teacher, placing him back into the school system and awarding him all his retroactive back pay.

Said this teacher:

“My family appreciates your hard work and dedication to the case. You have brought so much joy and dignity back to our household and professional life. You worked hard and gave it your all to bring justice to our case. As a result, many will gain because you made it okay to fight for what is right!

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attorney.JPGWilliams Oinonen LLC was very gratified with the courage the Tribunal showed in making the right decision to reject Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson’s recommendation to terminate the contract of an educator in DeKalb County School District through a reduction in force.

While the educator ended up accepting a very attractive offer at a nearby school district so the Tribunal’s decision did not end up having to be ruled on by the Board, Ms. Oinonen hopes that the DeKalb County Board of Education will take note as to how the Reduction in Force is being applied, ask the right questions and demand accountability from the Superintendent in the future.

Regarding Ms. Oinonen’s legal representation, Mr. Lynch stated:

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tribunal.JPGIn a recent Fair Dismissal Hearing, the Tribunal published its “Findings of Fact and Recommendations to the DeKalb County Board of Education” stating that it “rejects the recommendation to terminate the contract” of a media specialist educator based upon the Reduction in Force plan.

Ms. Oinonen successfully argued that Dekalb County School District’s (DCSD’s) implementation of the Reduction in Force (RIF) plan is illegal and a violation of the new law, OCGA 20-2-948. This legislation, recently enacted in May 2012 holds it illegal to consider length of service as the primary factor in a RIF. Rather school districts must consider “performance of the educator” as the primary factor in implementing a reduction in force.

Ms. Oinonen argued that this is exactly what DCSD is violating although they denied it— using a seniority “first in last out system” by claiming that everyone is equal because everyone supposedly has an “overall” satisfactory performance evaluation.

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principal.JPGGood Georgia Lawyer was pleased to save an Assistant Principal’s job in one of the largest school district’s in Georgia.

Regarding Julie Oinonen, attorney at Williams Oinonen LLC, the Assistant Principal stated the following:

“First and foremost Julie was honest & attentive with me from our first meeting concerning my case. In addition, she was easily accessible by phone or e-mail throughout the duration of my case. She is a true professional. In the end, she protected my name, reputation, and secured my contract for the upcoming school year. Thanks!!!”

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teacherstudent.JPGIt is that time of year again: a time that can be very difficult for teachers in Georgia who have recently received a letter notifying them that their contract has been non-renewed. As many teachers already know, the law in Georgia protects teachers who are in their fourth year within the same local school district. The law states that once a teacher accepts a school year contract for the fourth consecutive school year from the same local school district, that teacher may not be demoted or non-renewed unless for a set of specific reasons. And if demotion or non-renewal occurs, those teachers are entitled to procedural due process which includes a non-renewal hearing. Good Georgia Lawyer has written extensively about teacher rights so to learn more about your rights to a non-renewal hearing, we recommend you read our article here. Also you can read here. And here as well.

The grounds for suspension or termination are listed in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-940 and include such reasons as: incompetency, insubordination, immorality, willful neglect of duties, inciting students to violate laws, failure to maintain educational training, reduction of staff due to loss of students or cancellation of programs, or any other good and sufficient cause.

Regarding the “reduction of staff” grounds for non-renewal, one small improvement to the law happened during this year’s legislative session 2012. As a result of so many teachers facing layoffs due to our difficult economy, legislators added language which states that if non-renewal occurs due to reduction in staff (often known as “Reduction In Force” (RIF) ) due to no fault or performance issue, the local administration must specify in writing “that the termination or suspension is due to no fault or performance issues” of the employee. See: 2012 Georgia Laws Act 707 (S.B. 153).

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It’s that time of year again, when sadly, many good teachers start to worry whether their principal or school administrator will issue them a non-renewal letter regarding their teaching contract. This can often happen if the teacher has been previously placed on a Professional Development Plan, or “PDP.”

One of the biggest way principals or school districts lay the groundwork in order to try and fire a tenured teacher is by putting them on a PDP early on in the school year. Laying the “paper trail” even when the accusations against the teachers are not legitimate, is the most effective legal strategy that school districts use to try and ensure that future adverse employment action against the teacher is deemed legal and fair.

One administrator estimates that 50% of the teachers placed on a Professional Development Plan (“PDP”) are successful in completing it. School administrators know this ‘game’ when they place the teacher on a PDP. Oftentimes the end purpose is not to improve the teacher’s performance, but rather simply to have legal justification for firing the tenured teacher down the road. To do this successfully, some teachers end up being set up for failure by being placed in a no-win situation.

If you are a tenured teacher who has been placed on a PDP, it is vital that you immediately seek competent, legal counsel in order to begin to fight the one-sided paper trail that will be used to justify non-renewal of your teaching contract from day one.

It is also important to educate yourself on your legal rights as a Georgia teacher. For example, if a school board terminates, suspends, or demotes a teacher in the middle of a contract year, the teacher has a right to be represented by counsel during a hearing – even if the teacher is not tenured (O.C.G.A. 20-2-940). If a school board attempts to non-renew a tenured teacher’s contract, the teacher again has a right to a non-renewal hearing. (O.C.G.A. 20-2-942).

Good Georgia Lawyer has written about the rights of teachers relating to employment termination and contract non renewal which we recommend you read here and here.

The important thing is to act sooner rather than later if you are a teacher facing a potential adverse employment action. All too often, human beings procrastinate rather than dealing with the scary things in life that we don’t want to have to face such as the loss of a job in this difficult economy. As a result, clients are oftentimes calling us after the fact rather then early on when it is much easier to help them.

Don’t end up in a case of too little, too late. The sooner an attorney is on your side, the better the chance your employment as a teacher in a challenging work environment will have a successful outcome.
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Federal law under The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) gives parents the rights to their children’s educational records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. This applies to most schools.

What Are A Parent’s Rights Under FERPA?

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records:

• Parents have the right to review and inspect their child’s educational records maintained by the school. Schools may charge for copies.

• Parents have the right to request that a school correct a record that they believe to be inaccurate. If the school decides not to amend the educational record, the parent has a right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent has a right to place a statement with the record reflecting their viewpoint about the information that is contested.

• Generally, schools must have in writing permission from a parent to release information about a student’s educational record. The law allows schools to disclose those records to the following parties under the following conditions:

 School officials who have a legitimate educational interest in reviewing the record;
 Another school where the student transfers to;
 Appropriate officials for evaluation or auditing purposes;
 Appropriate individuals in connection to the student’s financial aid;
 Organizations providing certain studies on behalf of the school;
 Accreditation institutions;
 To comply with a court order or subpoena;
 Appropriate officials in safety and health emergencies; and  Juvenile justice system authorities, pursuant to specific State law.

Schools are allowed to disclose, without consent, “directory” information including name, phone number, and other such basic information as long as they tell parents about such information and allow a reasonable time frame to opt out.

These rights under FERPA will transfer to the student when they reach the age of majority (age 18) or attend college or an educational institution beyond high school.
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covenant.jpgOn Saturday, February 4th, Julie Oinonen, Partner at Williams Oinonen LLC was a guest speaker at Covenant College, on Lookout Mt. Georgia where she spoke to Covenant students who are considering law school. Covenant College is a four year liberal arts Christian college on Lookout Mountain, Georgia of which Ms. Oinonen is an alumna. Ms. Oinonen shared with students tips on getting into the best law school, succeeding while you are there, and figuring out whether a law career is right for you. Ms. Oinonen particularly spoke of her profession as a calling and how her faith informs her practice.

Ms. Oinonen is a partner at Williams Oinonen LLC, a civil litigation firm that also provides political consulting, campaign strategy, and opponent research for election campaigns. This is her second time speaking at Covenant College within the past year as her law firm has made a special effort to reach out to pre-law students at the institution.

The two other alumni speakers at the event were Mr. Pete Johnson and Mr. Cal Marshall, both licensed attorneys in the state of Tennessee. Mr. Pete Johnson an attorney at his own firm, handles corporate, real estate, wills, construction and development law. Mr. Cal Marshall is an associate Chambliss Bahner and Stophel P.C. in Chattanooga where he practices business and health law, assisting clients on compliance with federal and state regulations and business planning.

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