Attorney, Special Education, Civil Rights, Labor and Employment

About the role

Location: Administration or As Assigned Reports to: Chief Legal Counsel FLSA Status: Exempt Salary Band: 12 Compensation: $121,410.00 - $157,833.00 Under the direction of the Chief Legal Counsel, this attorney is directly responsible for conducting internal investigations, representing the District at administrative hearings and before administrative agencies, negotiating agreements, and attending labor arbitration hearings for the District with minimal supervision. The Office of Legal Services is designed to provide support and experience in collective bargaining, board policy development, discrimination claims, student discipline, special education, District-sponsored community schools, public records/sunshine laws and more. The professional duties of the Lawyer, Special Education, Civil Rights, Labor and Employment include researching and analyzing facts and law, discovery, settlement negotiations, presenting evidence and arguments, submitting administrative filings, and appellate processes. This attorney advises clients and litigates legal issues arising from disputes involving special education, civil rights, employment and personnel discipline matters, and other legal matters involving the District. This position will represent the District before various courts, administrative agencies, and arbitrators. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Provides timely and professional legal advice to a variety of internal stakeholders regarding special education, civil rights, labor, and employment matters Represents the District through all phases of special education litigation, including administrative complaints and due process hearings before ODEW. This includes researching and analyzing facts and law, drafting responses, preparing witnesses, appearing at hearings, conducting settlement negotiations, presenting evidence, and appellate processes Represents the District through all phases of Civil Rights related administrative processes and litigation, including complaints before the USDOE, EEOC, OCRC, and ODEW and corresponding court matters Supports all facets of internal investigations related to civil rights matters, including Title IX investigations, discrimination investigations, and Section 504 complaints. Develops skills associated with, and eventually assume responsibilities of, the role of the District's Title IX Coordinator, Director of EEO, and/or 504 Coordinator Represents the District in matters involving labor, employment, and disciplinary actions, including labor arbitrations Occasionally represents the District in general civil litigation matters Provides legal and strategic counsel to District management relating to current and potential special education, civil rights, labor, and employment issues Proactively identifies potential problems relating to curren

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Additional Information

Position Type: Administration and Professionals Date Posted: 2026-04-09 Location: Administration or As Assigned INTRODUCTION: CONTEXT AND MISSION The Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) serves approximately 37,000 students in 100+ schools. Over the past several years, the Greater Cleveland community has united behind the collective goal of ensuring every child in Cleveland attends a high-quality school and every neighborhood has a multitude of great schools from which families can choose. The Cleveland Plan defines CMSD's approach to the reinvention of public education and holds our community accountable for the success of Cleveland's schoolchildren. The Cleveland Plan is supported by Ohio House Bill 525, which provides much-needed flexibility and autonomy for the district and its schools. Our schools have autonomy over human and financial resources in exchange for accountability for performance. The principal has primary responsibility and accountability for establishing his or her school as a high-quality, high-expectations academic center with a focus on personalized instruction, professional support for teachers, and school-wide practices that lead to measurable results. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District has developed standards of excellence that the district applies to all parts of the organization inclusive of schools, principals, school leadership teams, networks, and central office. Alignment between Standards of Excellence (SoE) and the district's Theory of Action helps ensure that principals are able to focus on scholar achievement and that central office supports are timely and effective. Our Vision for Learning in a Post-Pandemic World: In our pursuit of a more fair, just, and good system of education, we want each of our learners, both each of our scholars and each of their educators, to be individually and collectively presented with academically / intellectually complex tasks that are worthy of their productive struggle and allow them authentic opportunities to demonstrate their work and their learning of academic content and transferable skills in a joyful and adventurous environment.

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