Educational Institutions

For decades, Vezina Law Group has been proud to serve as counsel of schools, school systems, and college boards throughout the country. Our lawyers have extensive experience in all facets of education and regularly represent educational institutions in areas regarding compliance and accreditation, licensing, program and curriculum development, employment related issues, discrimination litigation, and nonprofit organizational operation and planning.

Our firm has built a strong reputation in a wide variety of education-related fields, including:

  • School Board accountability laws and regulations
  • Not-for-profit organization and administration
  • Employment law
  • Labor contract negotiations and grievances
  • Student discipline and related hearings
  • Accreditation issues and compliance with principles of accreditation
  • Joint venture agreements and allied health programs
  • Religious-owned institution interaction to ensure compliance with principles of undue influence avoidance
  • Real estate financing and bond issuance for educational institutions
  • Tax compliance for profit and not-for-profit institutions
  • Special education law, including IDEA

At Vezina Law Group, we also represent parents and students who have been negatively affected by institutions that fail to comply with the legal requirement and intent of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and regularly represent students and parents of affected students regarding failure to provide proper placement, Individualized Educational Planning (IEP) deficiencies and failures, due process hearings, and related litigation.

As the IDEA and state regulations with corresponding provisions throughout the country require, all students with disabilities are entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that is specific to the peculiar needs of that particular child. This includes not only the educational environment, but also the related services and therapies necessary for a disabled child to be educated in a general education environment whenever possible. Many educational institutions are not aware of their legal obligations to provide FAPE to pre-school aged children under part B of the IDEA and even younger children from 0 to 3 under part C of the IDEA.

As to those institutions that Vezina Law Group represents, we regularly counsel our clients on compliance with the law in both its letter and intent. We have regularly represented our client institutions in investigations and enforcement actions with the United States Department of Education and have successfully represented those schools to conclusion and closure of the investigations.

Our firm is an approved counsel for and regularly represents the Christian Brothers Risk Pooling Trust in Louisiana and Michigan, which services Catholic institutions throughout the United States in risk management, health plan implementation, and litigation defense for various liability claims made against these institutions. We are experienced litigators and consultants in this area, having established case-law jurisprudence that has shaped education law in the country.

In addition, Vezina Law Group (as well as its sister New Orleans entity, Vezina and Gattuso) regularly serves as Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Louisiana, representing the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, which owns and operates two medical schools and eight charity hospitals in the State of Louisiana, including the Louisiana State University School of Medicine and its related allied-health programs. This representation extends not only to professional liability, but also to litigation involving advanced and complex claims, including medical malpractice defense, discrimination claims, and contractual disputes.

In sum, Vezina Law Group’s experience in education law is nothing short of superior.