Minimizing legal risks to its clients is an important focus of Tueth Keeney. To minimize a client’s legal risks, Tueth Keeney attorneys often present in-services for its clients. On April 29, 2011 Merry C. Rhoades and Laura E. Hemmer presented a full day in-service to educators and administrators for Mid-State Special Education Cooperative. Mid-State Special Education, located in Central Illinois, is a four county joint agreement, which provides services to children with special needs, ages 3 through 21 inclusive, who reside in the 16 member school districts.
The in-service was held at Lincoln Land Community College in Litchfield, Illinois. The presentation titled "Special Education Legal Issues" provided a legal update designed to support educators in meeting the legal challenges of special education. Merry and Laura spoke on issues such as Section 504 and the ADA, Bullying Prevention, Implementing RtI, and Avoiding Disability Discrimination in Extra-Curricular Activities.
Merry C. Rhoades focuses her practice on general counsel services with an emphasis on special education law and student-related issues, school district reorganization matters and tax and finance matters. Because of her more than 20 years experience in representing Illinois public school districts, she has key insights regarding the day-to-day operation of the school district. She has extensive experience in special education administrative hearings, civil rights litigation, state and federal court litigation at the trial and appellate levels, and state administrative hearings.
Merry is an active member of several school related organizations. She is a member of the Illinois Council of School Attorneys Executive Committee and currently serves as its Chairperson and she is a service member to the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA). She serves as an Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) PRESS advisory committee member. Merry has been asked to speak for such organizations as the Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education (IAASE), the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA), the Illinois Principal's Association
(IPA) and the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) on numerous school related issues.
Laura E. Hemmer practices primarily in the areas of education law and labor and employment. She represents public entities with respect to employment and termination matters, special education issues, student discipline and student rights, civil rights and church/state issues. She has also represented private and public employers through all stages of litigation and appeal in state and federal courts. During law school, Laura served as a legal intern with the United States Attorney’s Office and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.
Tueth Keeney is proud to be one of the state's largest Illinois education law practices. The firm has one of the 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.
Copyright 2011 Tueth Keeney Cooper Mohan & Jackstadt, P. C. The materials on this firm website have been prepared for general informational purposes only, and are not intended to be legal advice or the opinion of legal counsel on any particular issue. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements. This email is not intended to be advertising, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship between you and Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt, P.C.