News

Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Partner Triumphs in Federal District Court

 

On February 8, 2022, in C.F. v. Scolaro et. al., the Federal District Court ruled in favor of Marshfield Public Schools (“Marshfield”) on motions for summary judgment, upholding the findings from the Bureau of Special Education Appeals. Attorney Felicia Vasudevan, a Partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, represented Marshfield throughout the case. Marshfield was among several individuals and entities being sued by the Parent of a student that attended Marshfield High School between 2019 and 2020. In the case, the Parent had unilaterally placed her child in an unapproved residential school, despite being accepted to numerous neighboring public schools.  The Court upheld that Marshfield’s proposal to send the student to neighboring school districts or collaboratives was consistent with the requirements for the student to be educated in the least restrictive environment as there was no evidence that the student could not be mainstreamed with general education peers.  The case reiterates that if the school district’s proposal provides a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, the parents are not entitled to reimbursement for their unilateral placements.

 

Ms. Vasudevan is an attorney in the firm’s Education Law and Special Education Law Groups, working in regular and special education issues. She represents school districts in all aspects of special education litigation, from administrative hearings at the Massachusetts Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) through all levels of judicial appeal. She represents school districts in matters of student discipline, civil rights issues, collective bargaining, public procurement, and employment issues.  Ms. Vasudevan presents workshops to both client groups and at state conferences such as the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE). These workshops are on a variety of relevant education issues such as conducting investigations, evaluations, special education, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, state and federal student record regulations, bullying, and civil rights laws. Ms. Vasudevan received her Bachelor’s Degree from Stanford University, with a major in Public Policy and her Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. Prior to law school, she taught high school mathematics for two years in San Jose, California, as part of Teach for America, and trained the incoming Teach for America Corps Members at Teach for America’s Summer Institute.

Latest News

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

Legal Updates

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.

Braintree, MA

50 Braintree Hill Office Park, Suite 410,
Braintree, MA 02184

Boston, MA

75-101 Federal Street
Boston, MA 02110

Tel: (617) 479-5000
Tel: (888) 841-4850
Fax: (617) 479-6469

Quincy, MA

Crown Colony Plaza
300 Crown Colony Drive, Suite 410
P.O. Box 9126
Quincy, MA 02169-9126

© 2023 Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP. All Rights Reserved. Website by Interactive Palette