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.
Upcoming Seminar at NJASA/NJAPSA Spring Leadership Annual Conference
On Wednesday, May 18, 2017, Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. and Cameron R. Morgan, Esq. will be presenting at the the New Jersey Association of School Administrators and Association of Pupil Services Administrators’ 35th Annual Spring Leadership Conference. They will be speaking about legal issues pertaining to student residency and homelessness. The seminar will be held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. For additional information and registration, please click here.
Appellate Division Affirms Tuition Reimbursement Issue Not Subject to Arbitration
On March 2, 2017, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued an unpublished decision in Hillsborough Township Board of Education v. Hillsborough Township Education Association in which it affirmed the Public Employment Relations Commission’s (“PERC”) determination that an issue involving tuition reimbursement was preempted by statute and therefore not arbitrable. This case arose from employees whose requests for tuition reimbursement were denied because the courses were not related to the employees’ current or future job responsibilities pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-8.5. In 2013, four individuals employed by the Hillsborough Township Board of Education (“Board”) sought tuition reimbursement from the Board for various […]
Upcoming Seminar at Lehigh University’s 45th Special Education Law Conference
On Friday, May 12, 2017, Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. and Cameron R. Morgan, Esq. will be presenting at Lehigh University’s 45th Special Education Law Conference. Their presentations are entitled “Mental Health, Including Therapeutic Placements: Balancing the Law and Family Support” and “Special Education Law 101: The Do’s and Don’ts of Special Education Litigation.” The seminar will be held in Lehigh, Pennsylvania. For additional information and registration, please click here.
Appellate Division Clarifies Who May Issue Rice Notice to Superintendent
In 2013, the Appellate Division ruled that Daniel Woska, a former member of the Brick Township Board of Education (“Board”), exceeded the scope of his authority and violated the New Jersey School Ethics Act (“Act”) when he directed the Business Administrator to issue a Rice notice to the Superintendent. As a result of that Rice notice, the Board discussed the Superintendent’s employment and then terminated him. In the 2013 decision, the Appellate Division remanded the case to the School Ethics Commission (“SEC”) to determine who is authorized to issue a Rice notice for the purposes of reviewing the Superintendent’s employment. […]
Upcoming Seminar: “Student Records: Legal Requirements You Need to Know”
On May 2 and May 5, 2017, Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. and Cameron R. Morgan, Esq. will be presenting at the National Business Institute’s seminar entitled “Student Records: Legal Requirements You Need to Know.” They will be speaking about student surveys and physical security of student records. The seminar will be held in Princeton and Atlantic City. For additional information and registration, please click here.
U.S. DOE and DOJ Rescind Guidance Documents Regarding Transgender Students
On February 22, 2017, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice (“Departments”) released a Dear Colleague Letter, which rescinds the May 2016 federal guidance documents regarding the rights of transgender students. The May 2016 guidance documents offered clarification that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) prohibits discrimination based on a student’s transgender status and/or gender identity. These previously issued guidance documents explained that school districts cannot require transgender students to use restrooms or locker rooms inconsistent with their gender identity or require them to use individual-user facilities when other students are not required to do so. The recent February 2017 Dear Colleague […]
N.J. Supreme Court Rules Arbitrator Exceeded Authority in Tenure Case
On February 21, 2017, the New Jersey Supreme Court in Bound Brook Board of Education v. Glenn Ciripompa invalided an arbitrator’s award in a tenure removal case after determining that the arbitrator exceeded his authority when he failed to determine whether a teacher’s actions rose to the level of conduct unbecoming. The arbitrator improperly applied the standard for hostile work environment instead of conduct unbecoming. Bound Brook Board of Education (“Board”) filed tenure charges against Glenn Ciripompa, a tenured high school math teacher, after an investigation revealed that he was using school district-issued laptops, iPads, and networks to transmit nude […]
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Not Required in Non-FAPE Cases
In a long awaited case involving a student requesting the use of a service dog in school, the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled on February 22, 2017 in Fry v. Napoleon Community Schools that parents are not required to exhaust administrative remedies under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) when the heart of their complaint does not allege a denial of a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”). This case involved a student with cerebral palsy who qualified for special education and related services under the IDEA when she attended a public school in Michigan. As a result, she […]
Appellate Division Further Defines “Promptly Available” Meeting Minutes under OPMA
Last week, we reviewed the New Jersey Appellate Division’s ruling in Kean Federation of Teachers v. Board of Trustees of Kean University, which changes a public entity’s obligations regarding Rice notices sent to its employees. You can read last week’s post here. This week, we will examine the Appellate Division’s other decision in the Kean case regarding a public body’s duty under the Open Public Meetings Act (“OPMA”), N.J.S.A. 10:4-6 et seq., to make meeting minutes promptly available. While the OPMA itself does not establish a specific time period for the “promptly available” standard, the Appellate Division found that the […]
To Rice or Not to Rice? A Lesson from the Appellate Division
*Please note that the case discussed in this article has been reversed by the New Jersey Supreme Court on June 21, 2018 in Kean Fed’n of Teachers v. Morrell, ___ N.J. ___, A-84-16 (2018).* In a published decision released on February 8, 2017, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued an important ruling regarding a public entity’s obligations regarding Rice notices provided to its employees. In Kean Federation of Teachers v. Board of Trustees of Kean University, the Appellate Division determined that a public body is required to provide a Rice notice to any employee whose name appears on the agenda regarding […]
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