Ms. Susan C Freedman is a lawyer practicing education, employment law, employment litigation and 3 other areas of law. Susan received a B.A. degree from University of Connecticut in 1971, and has been licensed for 37 years. Susan practices at Shipman & Goodwin LLP in Hartford, CT.
Professional Affiliations
•American Bar Association
•Connecticut Bar Association: Education Law Committee
•Hartford County Bar Association
•District of Columbia Bar Association
•National Association of School Board Attorneys
•Connecticut School Board Attorneys Council
•Hartford Association of Women Attorneys
Teaching Positions
•University of Connecticut, Adjunct Professor
Experience
Connecticut Board of Education Awarded Attorneys' Fees by Federal Court in IDEA Case
Class-Action Suit Alleging IDEA Violations
Private Placement Decision Upheld on Two Appeals
Publications
February 8, 2012 Office for Civil Rights Issues Additional Q&As on the ADA Amendments Act of 2008
May 30, 2011 Plug information leaks in e-mails
May 25, 2011 Emerging Issue: Service Dogs in Schools
January 27, 2011 Top 10 e-mail errors that prove damaging to districts
News
April 2011 35 Shipman & Goodwin Attorneys Named a Top Lawyer in Hartford County
September 25, 2006 School Construction Imminent? Consider Impact on LRE
February 1, 2006 Thirty-Five Shipman & Goodwin Attorneys Named Connecticut Super Lawyers
Events
May 14, 2014 A Special Education Primer for Connecticut's Charter Schools
January 14, 2014 Hartford - Peanuts, Concussions and Extracurriculars: Exploring the Landscape of Section 504
March 11, 2013 Assessing School Risk: Tools for Responding to Student Conduct
April 26, 2012 Handling Special Education Challenges
November 18 - 19, 2011 2011 Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE)/Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS) Convention
November 18, 2011 Sate Department of Education Bureau of Special Education Meeting
November 4, 2011 Cooperative Educational Services - New Administrators Induction Program - IDEA Best Practices
October 22, 2011 CBA - Truancy Project: Legal Aspects of Truancy
August 31, 2011 Presentation on Bullying - Portland Public Schools
August 25, 2011 Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS): Participation of Athletes with Disabilities in Team Sports
June 27, 2011 UCAPP Seminar for Administrators: Special Education and Section 504
May 6, 2011 Presentation to CONNCase: Hot Topics in Special Education
April 5, 2011 Student Privacy and School Communications - Hartford, CT
December 3, 2010 CES Legal Framework for IDEA Decision Making; L.D. Guidelines, Best Practices on IEP Writing: PPT Meetings for Administrators
October 23, 2010 CBA - Truancy Intervention Project: Legal Issues in Truancy Intervention
October 16, 2010 CBA - Truancy Intervention Project: Legal Issues in Truancy Intervention
October 8, 2010 CAS - IDEA Requirements for New Administrators
September 24, 2010 ASD - Confidentiality Issues for Students and Staff
June 28, 2010 UCAPP Special Education Institute: Hot Topics in Special Education for New Administrators
June 2, 2010 CASP - The Role of the Psychologist in Special Education
October 14, 2008 Section 504: Providing Regular Education Accommodations to Students With Disabilities
May 9, 2007 IDEA 2004 Regulations and Implications for Students Ages 5-21
October 24, 2006 Special Education: The Law, the Process and new IDEA Part B Regulations
September 19, 2006 Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): An Updated Practical Guide For The IEP/PPT Team Administrator
August 29. 2006 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
February 6-7, 2006 Identify and Testing Students with Disabilities
January 26, 2006 The New IEP in Connecticut
January 18, 2006 Helping all students to learn ...
December 2, 2005 Understanding the Laws, Liabilities and Responsibilities in Special Education Practice
November 30, 2005 IDEA Reauthorization 2004
August 25, 2005 Introduction to Special Education, IDEA
June 1, 2005 Conn. Association of School Psychologists: IDEA Reauthorization, The Role of the Psychologist
April 29, 2005 Discipline, Reference Letters in Independent Schools
April 15, 2005 Connecticut Association of Independent Schools: Legal Issues in Independent Schools
March 29, 2005 Legal Implications of IDEA 2004
March 24, 2005 Confidentiality of Student Records
March 3, 2005 IDEA Reauthorization 2004
February 7, 2005 Legal Issues in Section 504 and SSD Eligibility
February 3, 2005 Section 504 and IDEA
January 24, 2005 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement (IDEA) Reauthorization 2004
January 21, 2005 IDEA Reauthorization 2004
January 20, 2005 Legal Update of Laws and 504 Issues
January 18, 2005 Legal Update: Hot Issues in Special Education
October 15, 2004 Connecticut Bar Association: The Role of the Court and Schools in Discipline
December 24, 2003 Law Talk on Radio 1080 Member: Professional Affiliations •American Bar Association • Listed as a Connecticut Super Lawyer®: Schools & Education; 2006 Teaching Positions • University of Connecticut, Adjunct Professor Professional Affiliations • American Bar Association • Connecticut Bar Association • Hartford County Bar Association • District of Columbia Bar Association • National Association of School Board Attorneys • Connecticut School Board Attorneys Council • Hartford Association of Women Attorneys • Education Law Committee Connecticut Board of Education Awarded Attorneys' Fees by Federal Court in IDEA Case In the first decision in Connecticut, and one of the only decisions in the country, a federal judge recently awarded a Connecticut school district attorneys' fees under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"). The case, E.K. by and through his Parents and Next of Friends, Mr. and Mrs. K. v. Stamford Board of Education, No. 07cv800 (Mar. 31, 2009), stemmed from a student's challenge to his expulsion for making racial threats toward another student. In the spring of 2007, the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut denied the student's request for a preliminary injunction to require the district to readmit the student to his high school and allow him to participate in graduation ceremonies. After this denial, the student, through his attorney, essentially ignored the prosecution of his IDEA claim -- although he did not officially withdraw the claim for several months -- but maintained his other claims, due process and constitutional vagueness. The district moved for summary judgment; the student opposed this motion and filed his own motion for summary judgment. In May 2008, the District Court granted the school district's motion for summary judgment and, thereafter, the district filed with the District Court a request for attorneys' fees against the student's attorney. Specifically, the school district claimed that the attorney had pursued the claim under the IDEA after he knew the claim to be frivolous, and that he did so to harass or increase the cost of litigation. The Magistrate Judge, in granting the school district its attorneys' fees, found that the school district was the prevailing party in the underlying litigation, because the District Court had granted the district's motion for summary judgment in its entirety, and further found that the plaintiff's attorney had continued to litigate the IDEA claims after he knew that the litigation had become frivolous. According to the decision, "after the Court denied injunctive relief . . . , plaintiff was clearly on notice of the deficiencies of his IDEA claim." E.K., No. 07cv800 at *14. The plaintiffs' attorney has since filed an objection to the Magistrate Judge's ruling. Private Placement Decision Upheld on Two Appeals Plaintiff sued the West Hartford, Connecticut Board of Education for funding of a residential placement for plaintiff's son in order to receive an appropriate education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). At the administrative hearing, the Hearing Officer found for the Board, holding that the Board's offer of a program in the high school the student would otherwise attend with special education and regular education services was an appropriate program for the student in the least restrictive environment. The plaintiff appealed the hearing officer's decision to the United States District Court of Connecticut in which the decision for the Board of Education was upheld. The plaintiff sought judgment in the United States 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals which upheld the lower courts' rulings. A.S. v. Board of Education of West Hartford, 35 IDELR 179 (D. Conn 2001) 2d Cir. 2002.
•Connecticut Bar Association
•Hartford County Bar Association
•District of Columbia Bar Association
•National Association of School Board Attorneys
•Connecticut School Board Attorneys Council
•Hartford Association of Women Attorneys
•Education Law Committee Fellow: Connecticut Bar Association
One Constitution PlazaHartford, CT 06103U.S.A.
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