Legal Assistance Trust (LAT)

OSBA’s Legal Assistance Trust was established to help districts with the expense of litigation, primarily at the appellate level, which has a statewide impact. It is not intended to assist districts with routine legal services. Dues are based on the participating district’s average daily membership.

Since it began in 1991, the Trust has provided over $1.2 million in legal costs. A case accepted by the Trust typically receives 50 percent reimbursement for legal fees. In some cases, the Trust allocates more when the outcome could have a major impact on other boards, such as litigating the 2003 changes to PERS and the Forest Grove special education case that was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Membership information is sent annually to board chairs, superintendents/presidents, and business officials.

The Legal Assistance Trust Board of Trustees determines which cases to support and how much financial support will be allocated using the following criteria:

The district requests assistance through a board-passed resolution;

The legal action does not involve litigation between member districts;

The issue has impact or potential impact on education statewide; and

Trustees’ determination of the quality of the fact situation, the district’s financial resources, and the cost of the case.

A Board of Trustees, composed of the OSBA president, the OSBA executive director, the Council of School Attorneys president, and four other school board members appointed by the President with approval of the Board of the Oregon School Boards Association for three-year terms, administers the Trust.