Amy Houck Elco is a partner in Cooper Levenson’s Education Law Practice Group, based in the firm’s Atlantic City office. As lead attorney for numerous New Jersey school districts, Amy guides school board members, administrators, and school officials through the full spectrum of education law matters that impact schools on a daily basis.
She works closely with her clients to develop policies, procedures, and strategies that promote compliance and minimize risk. Amy regularly provides training for educators on new laws and requirements, offering practical, team-oriented solutions to help districts anticipate challenges and avoid disputes before they escalate into litigation. Amy represents districts in special education, labor negotiations, general counsel, OPRA and OPMA matters, and Section 504. Known for her responsiveness, she is consistently available to provide prompt counsel and support-an approach that has earned her the trust of school officials statewide.
Amy’s background includes experience in healthcare compliance and public service. While in law school, she interned in the legal and HIPAA compliance offices of Magee Women’s Hospital, where she conducted employee seminars and helped design policies and procedures to meet regulatory requirements. She also gained prosecutorial experience through an internship with the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.
Practice Highlights:
Before joining Cooper Levenson, Amy worked at a small law firm in Cape May County where she specialized in zoning, planning and land use, as well as municipal law, construction, real estate and chancery practice. She served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Valerie H. Armstrong, Assignment Judge for Atlantic and Cape May Counties from 2002-2003. While clerking, Amy had the opportunity to be trained as a small claims mediator, and mediated cases on a monthly basis.
Amy is an Adjunct Professor, teaching school law, for the Graduate Program at Stockton University. She also is a faculty member for the Southern Regional Institute and Educational Technology Training Center at Stockton University. She teaches the school law leadership program, social media, affirmative action, and harassment, intimidation and bullying seminars. Amy also teaches personnel and labor relations for new business administrators for the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials program.
Awards and Recognitions
Amy was named to the New Jersey 2017 Super Lawyer’s Rising Star list in the area of school law. Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, selects attorneys for their “Super Lawyers” and “Rising Stars” list using “a patented multiphase selection process. Peer nominations and evaluations are combined with independent research.”*
Community
Amy has volunteered for many different non-profit organizations. She is an active member in many charitable organizations.
•Volunteer for Let Us Eat - Please, Inc., a non-profit corporation
•Committee for the Captain’s Table Gala, CFBNJ / Let Us Eat - Please, Inc.
•Past coordinator, Vincent J. Apruzzese Mock Trial Competition, Cape May County
•Past coach, Hammonton High School Mock Trial Team
•Past volunteer, Holocaust Victim Assets Litigation
•Past Member, Board of Directors, Stop the Violence in Atlantic County, a div. of the United Way
Articles
Amy recently co-authored an article for the New Jersey School Board Association’s Monthly Magazine School Leader entitled, “Boarder Lines,” regarding school residency issues. Amy also authored articles for the New Jersey School Board Association’s Monthly Magazine School Leader entitled, “Navigating Special Education Rights During COVID- 19,” and “It Didn’t Happen In School, But Can We Discipline?”
Seminars
Amy is an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Program at Stockton University, where she teaches school law. She also serves as a faculty member for the Southern Regional Institute and Educational Technology Training Center at Stockton, leading programs on school law leadership, social media, affirmative action, and harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB). In addition, Amy teaches personnel, labor relations, and negotiations for new business administrators through the New Jersey Association of School Business Officials program.
A frequent lecturer, Amy presents statewide on a wide range of school law topics, including staff rights and responsibilities, student discipline, special education, negotiations, board ethics, and HIB matters. She has been recognized for her engaging presentations and, in November 2014, was honored as a “Best of New Jersey School Board Workshop” speaker for her program, Can They Say That? Board Member, Employee, and Public Comment Under the Open Public Meetings Act.
