School Law

Extensive Experience Representing School Districts of All Sizes

Petrarca, Gleason, Boyle & Izzo, LLC and our team of attorneys have extensive experience representing school districts of all sizes throughout the State of Illinois in all aspects of school law. We are confident that we can effectively and efficiently handle any situation encountered by a school or District in one of the many subspecialties of School Law.

School Finance

School Finance

Our attorneys regularly advise and represent school districts on business service issues, including tax levies, budgets, fund transfers, bond issues and borrowing, State aid, taxpayer appeals, tax incentives for development, vendor contracts, and mandated reports.

Special Education

Special Education

We represent our school district and special education joint agreement clients in all aspects of special education law, including assisting districts with preparing legally-compliant IEPs and Section 504 Plans, and assisting clients in special education discipline matters, mediations and due process hearings and other complaints.  We regularly provide training to schools on all aspects of special education practices, procedures and law.

Student Discipline and Residency

Student Discipline and Residency

We have extensive experience representing school districts in student discipline issues. Our attorneys advise school districts on such student discipline issues as bullying and cyberbullying, student codes of conduct and related handbook provisions, suspension reviews, expulsions, alternative placement, due process concerns, and reasonable searches of persons and property.  We also have broad experience assisting school districts with the unique disciplinary rules and procedures for special education students including manifestation determinations, expedited hearings, and defending requests for temporary restraining orders.

Similarly, we routinely act either as hearing officer or as district advocate in hearings involving questions of student residency.  We assist in the development of residency investigation procedures.  This has become common for us because, coincidently, many of our clients are districts which are considered to have more desirable programs than some of their neighboring districts, resulting in the real problem of fraudulent residential claims.  But we are also cognizant of the distinct issues and procedures involved in students asserting homelessness under the McKinney Vento Act and state law, under which we provide advice and advocate before ombudsmen.

Board Practice and Procedures

Board Practice and Procedures

Our attorneys routinely attend board of education meetings, some on a regular basis and some when requested to address pending legal matters.  We address concerns regarding agendas, minutes, notices, closed session topics, voting requirements, and board officers. We are frequently called upon to provide legal opinions and presentations on the Open Meetings Act, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Local Records Act, Personnel Records Review Act, and similar statutes, as well as on general parliamentary procedure.

Labor and Employment

Labor and Employment

Petrarca, Gleason, Boyle & Izzo, LLC has significant experience and entire practice area devoted to defending and counseling both private and public clients in labor and employment law matters.

Litigation

Litigation

Petrarca, Gleason, Boyle & Izzo, LLC has extensive experience representing our clients in both State and Federal courts, and before administrative agencies; with a full practice area devoted to ensure successful litigation.

Property Tax Litigation and Issues

Property Tax Litigation and Issues

We intervene in approximately 100 new cases each year before the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, various county boards of review, and the circuit courts.  In these cases, we work with various valuation experts with whom we have established relationships, with opposing attorneys, and with assessment officials to arrive at equitable property assessments to minimize tax refunds and revenue losses to our clients.  While most appeals are settled, we handle several hearings in PTAB or trials in the circuit court each year.

We also defend districts in tax rate objections when taxpayers seek refunds by contending that the district’s rates are excessive under various legal theories, including court appearances, preparation of legal briefs and negotiating settlements on behalf of over 50 different school districts each year.  Where legal issues of common impact occur, we have joined with other attorneys in the submission of joint briefs.

Construction

Construction

We have extensive experience in construction law, both transactional and litigation.  We routinely review and revise contracts dealing with all aspects of construction, including contracts for architects, contractors, subcontractors, and construction managers.  We have worked with virtually every type of delivery system in the construction industry.  Those systems are general contractor, multiple prime contractors, and design build.  As construction projects often employ construction managers, we have worked with construction managers acting solely as advisors and construction managers acting both as advisors and constructors.  Most construction projects utilize the American Institute of Architects (AIA) construction documents and we are well versed in all AIA documents and have developed detailed modification recommendations.

Real Estate

Real Estate

Our attorneys regularly work with our clients on real estate matters.  We have experience assisting clients in the purchase and sale of land with public entities through intergovernmental agreements and with private entities through sales contracts.  We draft and review these types of agreements.  If necessary, we represent our clients at real estate closings.  We also counsel our clients on leases of land and other property. We have experience providing guidance to clients that are both lessors and lessees.