Legal Services

Our Litigation Services team produces a monthly email publication, the School Law Reporter, to update and inform you about developing law. To subscribe to this free publication, you can update your email preferences on your Member Account, or visit us at 503-485-4800.

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.

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.

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.

The Public Employers’ Defense Alliance was formed to defend various public employers, including school districts, named in lawsuits stemming from the 2003 legislative changes to Oregon’s Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). The Trust contributed over $670,000 toward the litigation costs on behalf of all trust members.

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 OSBA Executive Committee, administers the Trust.

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

Trustees

• Sami Al-Abdrabbuh, OSBA President, Corvallis School District
• Kris Howatt, LAT Chair, Gresham-Barlow School District – (three-year term expires 12/31/24)
• Melinda Thomas, LAT Vice Chair, High Desert ESD, Council of School Attorneys Chair
• Emielle Nischik, LAT Secretary-Treasurer, OSBA Executive Director
• Sherry Duerst-Higgins, South Lane School District / Lane ESD – (three-year term expires 12/31/24)
• Kraig Albright, Dayton – (three-year term ending 12/31/2026)
• Alonso Oliveros, Willamette ESD – (three-year term ending 12/31/2026)

Dues

Annual dues are based on the Oregon Department of Education’s average daily membership figures and adjusted to maintain an adequate trust balance.

 *Community colleges and education service districts are capped at this amount.

The Legal Assistance Trust voted to reduce the cost of dues by 20 percent in 2017 and has kept that reduction in place to date. 

Questions?

For more information about how to apply for trust funds contact Haley Percell, or call 503-588-2800. 

The Oregon Council of School Attorneys offers access to a network of Oregon school attorneys and an annual conference on current legal issues. Oregon membership entitles you to also join the National Council of School Attorneys, offered through the National School Boards Association. 

Some of the many benefits of that membership include e-journals with articles written by COSA attorneys, monthly e-newsletters to keep you up-to-date on school issues, being part of email discussion groups and the ability to pose questions to attorneys around the country, as well as discounts on conference registrations, seminars and webinars. Joint membership is required.

If you have not previously joined the Oregon Council of School Attorneys and National Council of School Attorneys (COSA), OSBA invites you to consider the many benefits of membership.

To join, please fill out and return this form. If you have any questions about council membership, please contact OSBA.

Membership in the NSBA Council of School Attorneys is open to attorneys who are licensed to practice before the highest court in any state of the United States, or before a court of record in the United States and who are (or have been within the last two years) attorneys for a local public school district or public junior or community college that is a member of its state association of school boards, or a state association of school boards.