News
Partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Presents at the MCLE Key Issues in Special Education Law Conference
On December 3, 2020 the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, or MCLE, held their “Key Issues in Special Education Law” conference. This conference provided crucial updates for school law practice. The subjects discussed included a BSEA (Bureau of Special Education Appeals) update with key statistics and rule changes, a key decisions update, and three different panels. The first panel focused on the COVID-19 impact, and included details on compensatory services. The second panel discussed the 2020 election implications, and the final panel was an “Ask the Experts” question and answer session, ending with the key takeaways.
Ms. Sowydra, a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, was on the panel discussing the COVID-19 impact. During this, the panel described the relief one can request as a result of COVID-19; the options of kids who have higher needs, specifically referencing remote versus in person learning, and support during remote learning, obligations for in person home instruction for kids that have been sent home, and the impact on kids who are living out of the district were all topics the panel discussed.
Mary Ellen Sowyrda is a partner in the firm and heads the Special Education Department within Murphy, Hesse, Toomey and Lehane, LLP. The firm currently represents more than 125 school districts and educational collaboratives in the practice area of Special Education Law. She is involved in all aspects of litigation and alternative dispute resolution at the Bureau of Special Education Appeals, including representing clients at hearings, settlement conferences, pre-hearing conferences and mediations. She provides clients with daily advice on school-related legal issues including all aspects of special education, Section 504, student discipline, student records and anti-bullying laws, and deals with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and other state agencies that are associated with the provision of special education services to students.
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Receives Favorable Decision for Town of Dracut
On April 11, 2023, MHTL Attorneys Peter Mello and Madison Harris-Parks represented the Town of Dracut, and successfully obtained a preliminary injunction order requiring, among other things, that the Defendant homeowners cease renting out their pool to the public. The case, Town of Dracut by and Through Its Building Inspector vs. Nason, Gilbert et al., was initiated by the Town after the Defendants failed to comply with the Town’s associated underlying zoning enforcement order. The Town requested the injunction Read More
EXTENSION OF MUNICIPAL RELIEF MEASURES - INCLUDING OPEN MEETING LAW REMOTE OPTION - SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR
The option for public bodies in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to hold public meetings remotely or in a hybrid fashion, which came into play at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been extended by the General Court for another two years, until March 31, 2025. The Governor signed the legislation, which will be codified at Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2023, on March 29, 2023. Because of the inclusion of an emergency preamble, the law goes into effect immediately.
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