Legal representation for children, teens, and their families in the school, home, and community.
The Obama administration issued a series of guidelines this Wednesday calling for school systems to relax their harsh disciplinary measures that often introduce the criminal justice system into the lives of students, effectively widening...
Fresh off the press, HooverLaw’s Summer Newsletter is now available. Learn about Zero Tolerance Policies from one of Maryland’s leading Education and Juvenile Law Attorneys, Mr. Patrick Hoover, Esq. Featuring articles: “Turning our Schools...
Cyberbullying / Juvenile Court / Juvenile Law / School Discipline / Social Media / Special Education / Tech
by Patrick Hoover · Published April 10, 2013
Last week, Maryland’s legislature passed a bill prohibiting cyberbullying against minors. Known as “Grace’s Law,” in memory of the 15-year-old victim of cyberbullying who committed suicide in Maryland last year after repeated cyberbullying attacks,...
Bullying / Cyberbullying / Education / Social Media / Tech
by Patrick Hoover · Published March 19, 2013 · Last modified September 28, 2019
A Washington school district’s discipline policies came under fire recently following an Everett middle school’s questionable handling of a cyberbullying incident. Samantha Negrete, 14 of North Middle School in Everett was called into the...
This month, 7-year-old Josh Welch, a second-grader at Park Elementary School in Baltimore was suspended from school for two days after biting his Pop-Tart pastry into the shape of a gun. This event is only...
Sadly, however, some recent cases of student discipline reported in the media reveal an alarming resurgence of zero-tolerance by some school administrators against students who even mention the Newtown massacre during school in any but the most sanitized circumstances.
The school-to-jail pipeline for kids is real and this article is yet further proof of that fact. While security is paramount in all schools especially those in grades K-12, regularly stacking our schools with police officers and security guards is not always the best idea. In fact, it’s often a bad idea.
Washington Post columnist Jay Matthews dedicated his Sunday column to Seth, a 9-year-old boy in Montgomery County Public Schools. Seth is a special education student, and as is the case with too many families this office has helped over the years, Seth’s parents have been in a knock-down, drag-out fight with the school system over how best to address Seth’s numerous and varied needs.
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) recently issued findings affirming MCPS’s long overdue decision to fire its long employed teacher for conduct, which in my opinion, amounts to no less than serial acts of child abuse and significantly inappropriate behaviors with children.
Phone: (301) 424-5777
Fax: (301) 217-9297
Email: info@hooverlaw.com
More