Firm Attorneys Create Professional Development Training Videos for Missouri Council of School Administrators

Jul 7, 2010

The Missouri Council of School Administrators (MCSA) invited the firm of Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt P.C. to produce a series of professional development training videos on various legal topics. The training videos will be available for members of the MCSA to view on the MCSA’s website. The MCSA is the umbrella organization for two autonomous statewide professional associations of public school administrators. The Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA) serves school superintendents. The Missouri Association of Elementary School Principals (MAESP) serves elementary and middle school principals.

The videos were created by Celynda Brasher and Margaret Hesse, Tueth Keeney shareholders, as well as by Michelle Basi, Kate Nash, Amy Clendennen and Dan Rhoads, firm associates. The topics included: Individual Liability under the Missouri Human Rights Act, Teacher Non-Renewal and Termination: Importance of Evaluation and Remediation; Collective Bargaining: Litigation in the Absence of Legislation; Visitor Policies: Restricting Access to School Facilities and Students; Student First Amendment Issues; Navigating the Electronic Universe: Student, Teachers and Administrators on Facebook and Beyond. The videos were produced in the firm’s offices and will be available on the MCSA’s website beginning July 7, 2010.

Celynda L. Brasher is a founding Shareholder of Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt P.C. She practices in the areas of education, litigation and labor and employment law. Celynda represents numerous school districts throughout Missouri. She regularly advises boards of education and administrators on matters involving employee hiring, evaluation, remediation, and termination; student rights and discipline; special education; Section 504; school finance; civil rights; employment and business contracts; the Open Meetings Act; church/state issues; and other constitutional matters. Celynda also represents public, private, and non-profit employers in discrimination defense, collective bargaining, union organization, unemployment compensation, wage/hour compliance and terminations, as well as a variety of other employment law areas.   Celynda has extensive litigation experience in federal and state courts and before federal and state administrative agencies.

Margaret Hesse primarily practices in the areas of education law, employment law, and litigation. She has represented school districts in employment matters, including Title VII, the Safe Schools Act, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Equal Pay Act. She has represented employers in labor matters before the United States Department of Labor/Wage and Hour Division, the Illinois Commission on Human Rights and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations board. Margaret has also represented employers in workers”™ compensation matters before the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and has handled numerous appeals before the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission and the Missouri Court of Appeals.   Margaret also has practiced in the fields of medical malpractice and legal malpractice.

Michelle Hammond Basi practices in the areas of school law, special education, school litigation, and labor and employment law. Michelle represents school districts throughout Missouri with respect to employment and termination matters, special education, Section 504, student discipline and student rights, civil rights, and church/state issues. Michelle has successfully represented school districts in student and employment matters before various federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including the EEOC, Missouri Commission on Human Rights, and the Office for Civil Rights. She is also a regular speaker at statewide and regional school law conferences.

Kate Nash practices primarily in the areas of education, litigation, labor and employment law. Kate has extensive experience representing private and public employers in all areas of employment law. She has experience advising employers as to all matters of human resource policy issues, specifically ensuring that employers are in compliance with state and federal labor and employment laws. She practices primarily in Missouri and Illinois state and federal courts. She has also represented clients in matters before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Missouri Human Rights Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

Amy Clendennen practices primarily in the areas of education, litigation, labor and employment law. Amy has extensive experience advising employers on human relations and labor policies. She has litigated claims in state and federal courts in Missouri, Illinois, California, and New York. Amy has also represented clients in administrative proceedings before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, the Missouri Human Rights Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

Daniel J. Rhoads practices primarily in the area of education law and also works in litigation. Dan has experience trying cases in the associate circuit courts. In his first year as a licensed attorney, Dan tried six cases on the record, including one jury trial. In law school, Dan participated in the trial practicum and in moot court competitions. Dan argued before Chief Justice John Roberts, among other distinguished jurists, in the finals of Washington University’s Moot Court tournament in 2007. At graduation, Dan was inducted into the Order of Barristers.

The law firm of Tueth, Keeney, Cooper, Mohan & Jackstadt P.C. has one of the largest and most successful education law groups in the country. The Firm regularly serves the legal counsel needs of approximately 150 school districts throughout Missouri. The Firm also has one of the largest school law practices in Central and Southern Illinois.