On April 1, 2000, eighteen attorneys who had previously practiced law together founded Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt, P.C. The founding attorneys have practiced education law together for many years and are proficient in serving educational institutions throughout Illinois and Missouri.

The Firm currently employs twenty-three attorneys. Our attorneys have extensive experience providing services to public schools, colleges and universities. Accordingly, we have one of the largest and most experienced groups of attorneys in Central and Southern Illinois dedicated to serving public schools. We regularly represent nearly 150 public school districts, including many districts in Central and Southern Illinois. Our Firm is also regularly appointed by insurers of educational institutions to represent districts in complex or difficult cases involving school or civil rights laws.

Tueth Keeney serves the legal needs of Illinois and Missouri public schools and also represents institutions of higher education. Our Firm is one of only twenty law firms in the nation that have been appointed to act as Select Counsel to represent colleges and universities insured by United Educators Insurance Risk Retention Group, Inc., the nation's largest insurer of colleges and universities. The Firm represents Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Illinois College, Murray State University, and Saint Louis University, among others.

Our attorneys provide answers to legal questions received from school administrators on a daily basis. Questions cover the widest possible range of subjects ranging from routine employment matters to complex finance issues. Our overriding goal in providing general counsel services is to be responsive to our clients' needs and to get the information to our clients quickly and without unnecessary expense. Our attorneys are well-versed in the education field which allows us to provide services in a cost-effective manner by assigning the work to the individual with the necessary experience and appropriate billing rate. Tueth Keeney provides legal counsel to school districts and administrators in virtually all substantive areas of school law:

Board Policy / Board Governance

Illinois public schools are faced with statutory and regulatory compliance issues on a daily basis. Tueth Keeney attorneys advise clients regarding the Illinois Open Meetings Act, Illinois Freedom of Information Act requests and other day-to-day legal issues that arise in the district. We also assist in complying with these mandates by creating and reviewing recommended or proposed policies. We are actively involved in school district reorganization matters including annexations and detachments.

Student Discipline and Student Rights

The Firm's attorneys have broad experience handling a wide variety of student matters, including student discipline and expulsion, student records under ISSRA and FERPA, harassment claims, searches, dress codes, drug testing, student publications and student speech. Moreover, we have extensive experience in the area of student religious activities at school: religious clubs, distribution of religious materials, and students proselytizing on school grounds. Firm attorneys regularly handle issues involving discipline for off-campus misconduct, misuse of the Internet, and student threats.

Special Education

The Firm regularly assists districts in complying with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. We also have extensive experience in resolving disputes between school districts and parents of disabled students under both IDEA and Section 504. Our special education experience spans the entire spectrum from basic administrative proceedings to complex litigation - including Office for Civil Rights' investigations, due process hearings, and state and federal litigation culminating in settlement, trial, or resolution on appeal.

Personnel and Employee Discipline

The Firm's attorneys have substantial experience representing school districts in a wide range of employment matters: probationary teacher nonrenewals, employee arbitrations, wage and hour issues, sexual harassment, unemployment compensation appeals, reductions in force, and discrimination complaints. We also regularly assist administrators in investigating and documenting staff misconduct.

Our attorneys also assist school administrators in addressing difficult personnel matters that may lead to employee termination. We have enjoyed success in helping school districts address difficult personnel problems. Tueth Keeney attorneys are widely recognized for their creative yet tough approaches toward these important issues.

Union Negotiations and Labor Law

Several Tueth Keeney attorneys have served as the lead negotiator in collective bargaining negotiations with teacher and non-teacher groups. We also represent employers in labor law matters including union election campaigns, employee grievance arbitration, and unfair labor practice proceedings. Although our attorneys aggressively represent our clients' interests, our relationship with the IFT and the IEA remains professional and positive.

Litigation

Tueth Keeney attorneys represent a wide variety of educational, municipal, individual, and insurance clients in administrative agencies and before federal and state courts. We have litigated cases throughout Illinois, including the Illinois Supreme Court, Illinois Courts of Appeals, Illinois Circuit Courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and federal district courts. Firm attorneys successfully try all types of school cases, from civil rights claims in federal court to personal injury suits in state court. We take pride in our record of success in school litigation.

We actively defend against state and federal discrimination claims, including Title VII, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the FMLA. We also represent public school districts against Constitutional claims such as free speech, due process, religious freedoms, separation of church and state, and search and seizure issues.

Real Estate, Construction and Business-Related Legal Issues

Our attorneys have experience with real estate transactions, title issues, leases, financing, property management, and construction. Our goal is to bring specialists together at the beginning of a project to advise the client on how to avoid problems, while maintaining the ability to deal aggressively with possible violations and the related regulatory enforcement actions that arise in the course of any development project or day-to-day business operation.

In the construction area, we provide services including contract preparation, negotiation and administration. We provide construction counseling and claim avoidance through risk shifting, efficient claim analysis and creative dispute resolution techniques. We advise our clients on project administration, contract interpretation, project scheduling, claims analysis and preparation, contract termination, insurance issues, and surety bond issues.

We also have extensive experience in preparing, analyzing, defending, and prosecuting construction claims, including change orders, defective plans and specifications, delay and termination. Our experience includes prosecuting and defending construction defect claims. In this area, we have retained and worked with technical consultants in architecture, project scheduling, engineering and other disciplines.

School Funding and Finance

School funding issues constitute a strength at Tueth Keeney. Our representation of school districts over the years has included numerous school funding matters. We assist school districts in meeting the eve present budget constraints through the borrowing of funds through issuance of Tax Anticipation Warrants, line of credit notes, and the lease/purchase of materials, equipment and supplies. We counsel school districts in meeting statutory requirements regarding budgets, budget amendments, inter-fund loans and transfers. Tueth Keeney is also skilled in providing guidance and assistance with respect to filing of tax levies, compliance with the Truth-in-Taxation Act and ballot referendums.

LITIGATION PREVENTION

The Firm prides itself on its client training activities - training that is designed to increase client awareness of potential legal problems. For more than a decade, we have presented client seminars on current developments in school law. These comprehensive programs (which are offered at no cost) stress actual problems faced by school administrators and board members, and offer practical suggestions to reduce liability. Tueth Keeney is dedicated to working with Illinois education-based organizations to provide training and up-to-date information on current trends in education law. Our seminars have often been co-sponsored by various Regional Offices Education.