A Capehart Scatchard Blog

Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev

Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. is a Shareholder in Capehart Scatchard’s School Law and Labor & Employment Law Groups. Ms. Dev concentrates her practice on the representation of boards of education in all areas of school law including: labor and employment, special education, Section 504, student discipline, student records, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act, School Ethics Act, student residency, civil rights, tenure, negotiations, Open Public Records Act, and Open Public Meetings Act. In connection with these representations, she is experienced in handling matters before State and Federal courts, including the Office of Administrative Law. Ms. Dev is an experienced special education litigator and defends school districts in due process hearings from inception through trial. In addition, she litigates matters before governmental agencies, including the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission, and New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. Ms. Dev routinely conducts training and seminars, drafts policies and manuals, and provides strategic advice to school administrators regarding school law issues. Ms. Dev also leads Capehart Scatchard’s School Law Blog (www.njschoollawblog.com) which focuses on cases, court decisions, and current developments affecting education law in the State of New Jersey.

Ms. Dev was selected to the “New Jersey Super Lawyer – Rising Star” list (2018-2021 in the area of School & Education). Less than 2.5% of attorneys selected as “Rising Stars” (lawyers under 40) through a peer nominated process based on independent research and peer evaluation. The Super Lawyers – Rising Star list is issued by Thomson Reuters. For a description of the “Super Lawyers – Rising Star” selection methodology, please visit https://www.superlawyers.com/about/selection_process.html
*No aspect of this advertisement has been submitted to or approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Appellate Division Reverses the Removal of School Board Member Who Sought Tuition Reimbursement

By on November 10, 2023 in Board Members, NJ School Law

By: Eric Richwine, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On November 9, 2023, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued a published decision in Board of Education of the Borough of Kinnelon v. D’Amico in which it reversed the final decision of the New Jersey Commissioner of Education (“Commissioner”) to remove a parent from her duly elected school board position for a purported conflict of interest following the submission of a ten-day letter on behalf of her special education child. In January of 2021, Ms. Karen D’Amico (“D’Amico”) was sworn in as a member of the Board of Education of […]

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Appellate Division Affirms Decision to Revoke Teacher’s Certificates

By: Gabi Aste-Molina, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On October 6, 2023, the Appellate Division of New Jersey affirmed the revocation of the teacher’s certificates in In re Certificates of Rita O’Malley by the State Board of Examiners for repeatedly failing to test and evaluate her students with learning disabilities. Woodbridge Township School District (“District”) employed the teacher in 2000 as a special education teacher and Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant. She was responsible for testing and diagnosing learning disabilities, developing individualized education programs, and meeting with parents and teachers to discuss the special education needs of her students. […]

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Appellate Division Upholds School Board’s Obligation to Report Former Employee’s Information Regarding Sexual Misconduct

By: Ruhani K. Aulakh, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On October 5, 2023, the New Jersey Appellate Division in A.B. v. Board of Education of the City of Hackensack affirmed that the Hackensack School Board (“Board”) was required to disclose information of a former employee’s sexual misconduct to the employee’s future employer under N.J.S.A. 18A:6-76.  In 2013, while employed by the Board, a teacher used social media to post inappropriate and sexually suggestive content.  The Board began an investigation into the teacher’s misconduct.  Before the conclusion of the Board’s investigation, the teacher and the Board finalized a settlement […]

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Appellate Division Upholds Amendment to Regulation Requiring Charter Schools to Contribute to Transportation Costs of Disabled Students

By on August 1, 2023 in Legislation, NJ School Law

By: Eric Richwine, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On July 3, 2023, the New Jersey Appellate Division in In re Adoption of N.J.A.C. 6A:27-5.1 upheld the New Jersey Department of Education’s (“the Department”) adoption of an amendment to its regulations governing the transportation of students. This appeal, on behalf of the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association (“the Association”), arose from the Department’s amendment to N.J.A.C. 6A:27-5.1, which governs the allocation of transportation costs for disabled students who attend out-of-district charter schools. The new subsection, N.J.A.C. 6A:27-5(b), caps the financial responsibility of the district of residence for disabled […]

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N.J. Supreme Court Declines Awarding Attorney Fees Under Common Law Right of Public Access

By: Ruhani K. Aulakh, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On June 20, 2023, the New Jersey Supreme Court in Gannett Satellite Info. Network, LLC v. Township. of Neptune declined to adopt an exception to the American Rule for attorneys’ fees under common law right of access claims to public records, which requires each party to pay its own fees in civil litigation.  The Court held that expanding the four categories of exceptions to the American Rule to include attorneys’ fees under the common law right of access would violate public policy.  A former police officer employed by Neptune […]

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N.J. Legislation Expands Uses of Sick Leave for School District Employees

By: Gabi Aste-Molina, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On July 3, 2023, Governor Murphy signed legislation that expands sick leave for school district employees. Bill A5060/S3440 amends the law by allowing school district employees to use their sick leave for preventative care, care of a family member, recovery from domestic or sexual violence or that of a family member, bereavement of a family member, to attend their child’s school-related conference or meeting, and when their child’s school or place of care is closed. Previously, school district employees could only use sick leave for a personal disability due to […]

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U.S. Supreme Court Rules Affirmative Action in College Admissions is Unconstitutional

By on July 11, 2023 in NJ School Law, Other

By: Gabi Aste-Molina, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court held in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College that race cannot be a factor in college admissions because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Students for Fair Admissions (“SFFA”) filed separate lawsuits against two highly selective universities: Harvard College and the University of North Carolina (“UNC”) in November 2014, alleging that these institutions’ admissions systems violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth […]

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N.J. Supreme Court Holds Teacher Maintains Tenure Because She Did Not Knowingly Waive That Right

By: Eric M. Richwine, Law ClerkEditor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On June 12, 2023, the New Jersey Supreme Court in Parsells v. Board of Education of the Borough of Somerville held that a New Jersey teacher did not knowingly waive her tenured right to a full-time teaching position under the Tenure Act when she voluntarily moved to a part-time position, unaware that she had no right to return to her full-time role.    Catherine Parsells, a full-time, tenured teacher employed by the Somerville Board of Education (“Board”), requested a transfer from full-time teaching to an available in-district, part-time teaching position […]

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Upcoming Webinar: “The New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Act-What Public Employers Need To Know”

By on December 2, 2022 in NJ School Law, Seminars with 0 Comments

On Wednesday, December 7, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. and Lauren E. Tedesco, Esq. will be presenting a webinar sponsored by The Institute for Professional Development entitled, “The New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Act-What Public Employers Need To Know.” Ms. Dev and Ms. Tedesco will be speaking about The New Jersey Earned Sick Leave Act. The topics include background on the Act and what the leave can be used for. For additional information and registration, please click here.

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Appellate Division Defines Arbitrator’s Authority Regarding Tenure Charges

By: Erika Vasant, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On August 25, 2022, in Sanjuan v. School District of West New York, the New Jersey Appellate Division in a published decision addressed the scope of an arbitrator’s authority under N.J.S.A. 18A:6-16 regarding tenure charges against a teacher. The Appellate Division held that an arbitrator may uphold a suspension without pay if a teaching staff member’s conduct was unbecoming. However, arbitrators lack the authority to demote teaching staff members from their positions. In this case, the West New York Board of Education (“Board”) demoted plaintiff Sanjuan from assistant principal to […]

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