Senior Assistant General Counsel, School Law Special Education

Chicago Public Schools • Chicago, IL

48d • Onsite

About The Position

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is a large urban school district serving over 320,000 students in more than 500 schools, with a workforce of over 44,000 employees. The district is committed to providing a world-class education that prepares students for success in college, career, and civic life, guided by core values of student-centeredness, whole child development, equity, academic excellence, community partnership, and continuous learning. The School Law Unit within the CPS Law office provides legal counsel on a variety of educational matters, including student records, discipline, enrollment, accountability, and legislative issues. The Assistant General Counsel, Special Education will specifically advise the Office for Students with Disabilities and school administrators on special education law, reporting to the Deputy General Counsel.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university
• Juris Doctorate degree from an accredited law school
• Licensed and authorized to practice law and in good standing in the State of Illinois
• Minimum of five (5) years of legal practice
• Knowledge of the Illinois School Code, State special education regulations, IDEA, ADA, and other laws supporting students with disabilities

Nice To Haves

• Experience managing attorneys and support staff
• Exceptional advocacy, analytical, oral and written communication skills
• Ability to quickly analyze and prioritize problems and accurately decide when to escalate
• Ability to build effective relationships throughout the Law Department and other Board departments
• Ability to collaborate and be a creative problem solver and team player
• Organizational skills and ability to manage numerous projects simultaneously under pressure
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with administrators, parents, advocacy groups, and governmental agencies
• Demonstrated ability to take ownership of and solve problems, to expeditiously assess issues and provide sound legal advice

Responsibilities

• Handling complex special education and school law matters
• Assist with managing other Special Education Attorneys, ensuring that the team is delivering expert legal services to the client and developing cooperative and collaborative relationships with external partners
• Assigning matters to staff and managing the team’s caseload
• Ensuring the vision, strategy, and tone for responding to due process matters, mediation requests, State complaints, and 504 matters is aligned with CPS’ 5-year vision and goals around equity, integrity, and quality of instruction and CPS’ values around parent-involvement
• Developing attorneys and staff to be client-focused, solution orientated and in service toward of CPS mission, goals, and values, always keeping student success and well-being in mind
• Ensuring that the written work of attorneys and staff is professional, well-researched and even-toned consistent with District mission, goals and values
• Ensuring work is done in a timely manner consistent with CPS Rules and Policies, statutory and regulatory requirements, ISBE rules, and CPS’ mission, goals, and values
• Ensuring that staff timely implement orders and mediation and settlement agreements with central office and school staff
• Represent CPS in special education matters, including due process hearings, mediations, and State complaints
• Gathering evidence regarding matters, submitting written work product, preparing witnesses for hearings, and providing oral arguments
• Actively participating/developing the continuous improvement of the Special Education Law Section in line with Law Department goals
• Supporting school administrators with IEP and 504 meetings whenever the meetings include parent attorneys/advocates
• Assisting with developing a system and database to effectively track, organize and report on all Special Education Law matters to Department Leadership
• Reviewing trend data to assist with the development of policy and systemic recommendations for improvement of services
• Interact with state and federal agencies to ensure compliance with legal mandates regarding students with disabilities
• Conduct and support training for Clients regarding Due Process Complaints, Mediation Requests, 504 matters, and general special education legal concerns
• Assist the School Law Deputy General Counsel with special projects related to cross-functional work and new initiatives
• Other duties as assigned

Benefits

• Establish/Maintain Chicago Residency - Employees are required to live within the geographic boundaries of the City of Chicago within six months of their CPS hire date and maintain residency throughout their employment with the district. The Chicago residency requirement does not apply to temporary/part-time positions, however, all CPS employees must be residents of Illinois.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior