Photo of Jessica Richman Smith

Jessica represents schools in a variety of education, labor relations and employment law matters.  She negotiates certified and non-certified collective bargaining agreements on behalf of numerous public boards of education.  Jessica also represents school districts in labor and employment disputes, freedom of information hearings, teacher tenure proceedings, student disciplinary matters, election law matters, and other legal proceedings arising in the education context.  In addition, Jessica advises schools on education policies and practices, compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act, and other legal matters arising in the education context.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court considered whether James Freed, a city manager who maintained a “mixed use” Facebook account on which he posted information

Continue Reading Supreme Court Announces New Test for Determining Whether Social Media Posts Constitute State Action

As an update to its previous 2017 guidance on the subject (the “2017 Guidance”), the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) released guidance for school

Continue Reading CSDE Releases Updated Guidance on Civil Rights Protections and Supports for Transgender Students

On May 26, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) announced that it would delay release of the final revisions to the regulations implementing

Continue Reading Release of Final Changes to Title IX Regulations Postponed from May to October 2023

On February 16, 2023, Connecticut’s Commissioner of Public Health (“Commissioner”) issued a memorandum to school nurse supervisors and school medical advisors regarding medical exemption reporting

Continue Reading Update on Connecticut’s School Immunization Requirements