Call for Proposals and Presenters

(1)

Call for Proposals and Presenters

NSBA Council of School Attorneys

2015 School Law Practice Seminar

October 22-24, 2015

Miami, Florida

Deadline extended: Monday, April 6, 2015

NSBA’S Council of School Attorneys invites its members to submit proposals and presenter resumes for speaking opportunities at our 2015 School Law Practice Seminar to be held October 22-24 in Miami. COSA’s School Law Practice Seminar is the premiere in-depth, practice-oriented CLE experience for school attorneys, with sessions addressing current topics of crucial importance to you and the school boards you represent. It is our chance to drill down to the meaty issues, to discuss shared challenges, and to grow as school attorneys and colleagues.

The seminar attracts approximately 180-220 Council member attorneys. COSA applies for CLE credit in all states with a mandatory CLE requirement. For this reason, all presentations require written papers. This seminar will offer at least 1 hour of ethics credit and 10-11 hours of CLE in total.

Seeking Session Proposals and Speaker Resumes

This year, the SLPS Committee seeks proposals for engaging sessions and speaker resumes.

 Session Proposals -- Members may submit proposals on areas of the law of interest and relevance

to the everyday practice of school attorneys, and in which you and/or your organization have in-depth knowledge and experience. Your proposal will be reviewed by the Seminar Committee.

 Speaker Resumes -- In the alternative or in addition, members may submit a speaker resume

listing areas of expertise, prior speaking experience, and references. (See Speaker Resume, page 7.) Speaker resumes may be used by the Committee to fill speaking slots at the School Law

Practice Seminar, and will be retained by COSA for three years for reference. Future Seminar committees and COSA staff may refer to resumes to fill other speaking opportunities, including the spring School Law Seminar and webinars.

Seminar Session Format: In-Depth and Interactive

The Seminar Committee will develop a program of in-depth and interactive sessions that address current school-law issues. Although the program format is subject to change based on the proposals received, space and time have been set aside for general (entire seminar audience) and concurrent (break-out) sessions. Consider the following before developing your proposal:

(2)

2015 School Law Practice Seminar Call for Proposals and Presenters

March 26, 2015  General sessions will include the entire seminar audience of around 180+ attendees.

 Concurrent sessions will offer in depth experiences for 50-100 participants. These sessions ideally are held in “workshop,” rather than lecture, format and should be designed to involve participants in a meaningful way.

 Anticipated session slots

o Six general sessions of 50-60 minutes. o One opening general session of 90 minutes. o One Ethics general session of 60 minutes.

o Two early bird concurrent sessions of two hours each (two 60-minute sessions, or one 120- minute session) on Thursday, October 22, 2014.

o Two 2-hour “break outs” on Friday, October 23, 2014 (two 60-minute sessions, or one 120- minute session).

 Presentations should address the experienced attorney and focus on the day-to-day practice of school law. Past attendees have requested more in-depth legal analysis.

 One 2-hour session for attorneys new to the practice of school law or those seeking a topical “refresher” will be considered. The School Law Boot Camp was well received in previous seminars, but typically takes place at the School Law Seminar held in the spring. This session works best when presenters are willing to involve the audience in a meaningful way. School Law Boot Camp proposals can be based on COSA’s School Law Primer Series:

http://www.nsba.org/resource-library/school-law-primer.

 Policy discussion is appropriate for some topics, but will be most appreciated if accompanied by checklists, case citations, forms, and other examples.

Topics: Current and Relevant

The Seminar Committee will consider all proposals on topics of interest to school attorneys and their school board clients.

This year, the Committee would like to see presentations on the following topics in particular:

 Litigation techniques/trial advocacy workshop, with active role-playing (e.g., depositions and discovery practice, arguing SJ motions, preparing witnesses, etc.) (2 hours)

 Labor/contract negotiations workshop (2 hours)

 Contracting and procurement workshop with in-depth treatment of specific area (e.g., AIA contracts, contract disputes, purchasing, negotiating) (2 hours)

 Grab bag of quickly-evolving school law issues and what to expect in next 2 years

 How to advise clients on everyday copyright/trademark questions

 Health concerns of students (DNR orders, allergies, contagious disease). The committee is interested in speakers with practical experience in these health issues.

 Health concerns of employees

 OCR investigations – a cross-regional comparison

 Sexual harassment in employment

 Hot issues in collective bargaining – looking ahead, what are teacher/service unions going to fighting for in the next 2 years

(3)

March 26, 2015

The Committee may also consider proposals on topics that prior seminar attendees have indicated as important, including:

 Employee discrimination (other than sexual harassment)/termination issues

 Student discipline

 Cloud Computing and data privacy

 School board member governance

 Bullying & cyberbullying

 Parental rights

 Section 1983 issues

Session Proposal Evaluation Criteria

Each proposal submitted will be judged according to the following criteria:

 Topic is of high interest and relevance to school attorneys and addresses the needs of the experienced school law practitioner or the attorney new to the practice (if a “boot camp” session).

 Presenter provides evidence of previous experience in presenting school law topics to attorneys at the state or national level.

 Proposal gives a clear, concise picture of what the session will include.

 Session objectives are clear and can be met realistically in the time allowed.

 Presentation will provide solid, practical “how-to” information such as a sample policy or procedural check list.

 “Lesson plan” provides for audience involvement – not just Q&A.

 Program is not wholly based on state law, but is national in scope.

Presenter Resume Evaluation Criteria

 Presenter provides evidence of previous successful experience in presenting school law topics to attorneys at the state or national level.

 Presenter provides references for prior speaking experience. The Committee will give

preference to speakers with strong references from his or her state school boards association.

Deadline and Requirements

All presenters must be members in good standing of the NSBA Council of School Attorneys, with exceptions for outside speakers with particular expertise or perspective. Presenters must submit a short biography with their proposal. All proposals submitted by COSA members received by Monday, March 30, 2015 will be evaluated by the Seminar Committee. Each firm or organization may submit up to three (3) session proposals and three (3) speaker resumes. The committee will make every effort to contact members whose proposals have been accepted by late April, 2015.

(4)

March 26, 2015

** If a proposal/speaker is accepted, written materials will be due Monday, August 24, 2015 for all sessions. Both a paper (annotated outline or legal review style article) and a Power Point or other visual presentation are required. The paper must contain legal analysis and current case/statutory/regulatory

citations. A simple outline or list of case summaries is not sufficient. COSA reserves the right to

withdraw an invitation to present at the 2015 School Law Practice Seminar if written materials are not received in a timely fashion or are inappropriate for publication. **

The Council will offer a complimentary registration and airfare for one presenter per session. Additional presenters will be required to register for the 2015 School Law Practice Seminar and cover their individual travel expenses.

Please, do not submit audio or videotapes, or materials of an extensive length with your proposal, as the selection committee will not be able to review them.

Note: In accordance with state CLE requirements, COSA has a “Financial Hardship Policy” in order to afford all of its members the opportunity to participate in COSA CLE offerings. Contact the Council Director for a

complete copy of the policy which will be linked to the seminar registration materials online.

(5)

March 26, 2015

NSBA Council of School Attorneys

2015 School Law Practice Seminar

October 22-24, 2015

Miami, Florida

S

ESSION

P

ROPOSAL

F

ORM

Proposal deadline: Monday, April 6, 2015

Send to: Laura Baird by e-mail at [email protected] or by FAX 703.548.5613.

Contact Information:

*Name of Primary Presenter/Session Leader: _____________________________________________ Other Presenters: ___________________________________________________________________ Law Firm/Organization Name: _______________________________________________________ Mailing Address: ___________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code: ______________________________________________________________ Phone Number: _____________________Fax Number: __________________Website ___________ E-Mail Address for Primary Presenter/Session Leader: ______________________________________

Attach bio or background information about each presenter or provide web link to bio.

*(COSA will offer a complimentary registration and airfare for one presenter per session, normally the session leader. Additional presenters are required to register for the 2015 School Law Practice Seminar and cover their personal travel expenses.)

Session Information:

 Time required for presentation/session: [ ] 50-60 minutes [ ] 75 minutes [ ] 90 minutes [ ] Other – please describe:

 [ ] Concurrent (break-out) session [ ] General session [ ] Ethics session [ ] Other: please describe

Proposed title of presentation/session:

(6)

March 26, 2015 50-word synopsis of session (to be used in promotional materials):

Objectives of session:

What practical “tool” will you provide (e.g. sample policy, procedural check list, etc.)?

Amplified Description of Session – You may attach up to two pages of supporting information.

Please list below or attach your state and national-level presentations to attorneys.

Proposal deadline: Monday, April 6, 2015 – Send to: Laura Baird by e-mail at [email protected] or send by FAX 703.548.5613. Call Laura Baird at 703.838.6150 with questions about proposal submissions.

(7)

March 26, 2015

NSBA Council of School Attorneys

2015 School Law Practice Seminar

October 22-24, 2015

Miami, Florida

P

RESENTER

R

ESUME

Deadline: Monday, April 6, 2015 for 2015 School Law Practice Seminar Send to: Laura Baird by e-mail at [email protected] or by FAX 703.548.5613.

The Seminar Committee will refer to submitted Presenter Resumes to fill sessions. COSA will retain submitted resumes for three years and use them as a bank for potential speakers for future programs.

Contact Information:

*Name: _____________________________________________

Law Firm/Organization Name: _______________________________________________________ Mailing Address: ___________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code: ______________________________________________________________ Phone Number: _____________________Fax Number: __________________Website ___________ E-Mail Address: ______________________________________

Please Attach bio or background information or provide url for bio.

*(For its seminars, COSA offers a complimentary registration and airfare for one presenter per session, normally the session leader. Additional presenters are required to register for the Seminar and cover their personal travel expenses.)

Topics of expertise:

(8)

2015 School Law Practice Seminar Call for Proposals and Presenters March 26, 2015 Conference/event and date Sponsoring Organization

Presentation Title Reference (name, title, contact info)