MINIMUM STANDARDS

(a) Minimum Period of Practice. The applicant must have been engaged in the practice of education law for at least 5 years immediately preceding the application date and been a member in good standing of the bar of any state of the United States or the District of Columbia for a period of 5 years as of the application date.

(b) Substantial Involvement. The applicant must demonstrate substantial involvement in the practice of education law during at least 3 of the 5 years immediately preceding the application date. The applicant’s examples from the following actions must total at least 50 points during the 5 years immediately preceding the application date using the point values and limitations assigned below. The applicant may only take points under 1 subdivision for each project of work unless expressly permitted by the standard itself in the following subdivisions. The applicant must elect the category under which the applicant wishes to receive points for the work in cases where a project is subject to points in more than 1 category and the rule does not expressly allow for points to be earned in more than 1 category.

(1) Items Worth 5 Points. The maximum points allowable for this subdivision is 30. Each item is worth 5 points or as otherwise indicated.

(A) Participation as lead lawyer in formal or informal administrative hearings in which questions or matters of education law were at issue and adjudicated through final order pursuant to the Florida Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 120, Florida Statutes is worth 5 points. Student suspension hearings and expulsion hearings that are not appealed to a court do not qualify. The applicant will receive an additional 3 points if the matter is appealed and the appeal is concluded by a court order, or decision, or otherwise resolved after the case is fully briefed. The applicant may also claim the 4 points available for participation as lead lawyer in rulemaking proceedings through rule adoption pursuant to Florida Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 120, Florida Statutes, involving a question or matter of education law or a rule on behalf of an educational institution for a total of 9 points if the applicant qualifies.

(B) Participation as lead lawyer in fully adjudicated administrative actions (including any formal arbitration or mediation proceeding) not included in (A) above in which questions or matters of education law were at issue including, but not limited, to labor and employment, rulemaking proceedings pursuant to the Federal Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551-559, and any arbitration agreement or federally required proceeding, including record review proceedings, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §§ 701-706, are worth 5 points. The applicant will receive an additional 3 points for each matter appealed and concluded by a court or fully briefed to the court before the appeal is concluded. The applicant may also claim the 4 points available for participation as lead lawyer in rulemaking proceedings through rule adoption pursuant to Florida Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 120, Florida Statutes, involving a question or matter of education law or a rule on behalf of an educational institution for a total of 9 points if the applicant qualifies.

(C) Participation as lead lawyer in fully adjudicated trial court proceedings in state or federal court in which questions or matters of education law were at issue is worth 5 points. The applicant will receive an additional 3 points for each matter appealed and concluded by a court or fully briefed to the court before the appeal is concluded.

(2) Items Worth 4 Points. The maximum points allowable for this subdivision is 32. Each item is worth 4 points or as otherwise indicated.

(A) Participation as lead lawyer in rulemaking proceedings through rule adoption pursuant to Florida Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 120, Florida Statutes, involving a question or matter of education law or a rule on behalf of an educational institution is worth 4 points.

(B) Participation as lead lawyer in administrative, state, or federal court litigation and arbitration in which substantial questions or issues of education law were presented and resulted in settlement before final adjudication is worth 4 points.

(C) Conducting appeals as lead lawyer in which the applicant either represented an educational institution or a party seeking relief against an educational institution on a question involving education law are worth 4 points. Appellate matters that are settled on appeal are included, but only if the applicant as lead lawyer filed at least 1 substantive brief in the appeal, including the appeal of student disciplinary matters pursuant to §120.68, Florida Statutes.

(D) Participation as lead lawyer in complaints in which the applicant prepared a response to, provided services in the investigation of, or negotiated resolution of complaints filed with state or federal government agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office for Civil Rights, or Florida Department of Education is worth 4 points.

(3) Items Worth 3 Points. The maximum points allowable for this subdivision is 30 points. Each item is worth 3 points or as otherwise indicated.

(A) Participation in student disciplinary hearings as a hearing officer or as lead lawyer before a hearing officer or an educational institution which were not appealed to a court are worth 3 points.

(B) Obtaining an advisory opinion from the Florida Commission on Ethics, Florida or United States Attorney General, the Florida or United States Department of Education, or any constituent division of those entities on behalf of an educational institution as lead lawyer is worth 3 points.

(C) Participation as lead lawyer for a party or an educational institution before any governmental organization in a formal public meeting (Sunshine Meeting under § 286.011, Florida Statutes), including an appearance before an educational institution as lead lawyer for that entity, involving a question of education law is worth 3 points. The applicant will receive 3 points for appearing as lead lawyer representing an educational institution before a local government or the Florida Department of Community Affairs on matters involving land use planning or zoning issues, appearing before a governmental entity or agency to advocate a matter of interest to a public or private client involving a question of education law or a matter of interest to an educational institution, or any other formal appearances before regulatory bodies and authorities involving a question of education law or matters of concern to an educational institution. The applicant will not receive points when this appearance is in connection with another matter covered by another subdivision including appearing before an educational institution in an executive session to discuss pending litigation or appearing in connection with a disciplinary hearing if points are awarded.

(D) Participation as a registered lobbyist in support of a rule or law before any governmental authority on a regulation or law involving education, education law, or a matter of concern to an educational institution is worth 3 points. Each law or regulation for which the applicant has advocated before an authority constitutes a separate matter of experience for accumulation of these points.

(E) Conducting an investigation as lead lawyer on behalf of an educational institution or represented a party being investigated during an investigation conducted by or on behalf of an educational institution is worth 3 points. This includes all internal review procedures and work related to issues involving scientific misconduct, plagiarism, breach of test security, Institutional Review Board meetings, tenure, dismissal from or sanction of employment, and advising managerial staff or the governing body of an educational institution regarding these matters. Likewise, points in this category are awarded for each client involved in any of these types of matters in which the client is or may be adverse to an educational institution.

(F) Serving as lead lawyer in an attempt to resolve a matter involving educational law as defined elsewhere through mediation or other negotiations, prior to the matter being filed in an administrative or judicial tribunal is worth 3 points.

(G) Performing internal audits for an educational institution including, but not limited to, assessing wage hour compliance and handbook review is worth 3 points.

(4) Items Worth 2 Points. The maximum points allowable for this subdivision is 30. Two points will be awarded for each of the following actions on behalf of a client or educational institution involving a question of education law, to the extent the work is not covered by or included in the work under another subdivision of these standards:

(A) preparation of an opinion letter regarding a question or matter of education law;

(B) preparation of a contract involving educational services, technology, or other matters that will facilitate or allow for the delivery of educational services, or in which an educational institution is a party;

(C) preparation of rules of procedure on behalf of an educational institution;

(D) evaluation of a charter school application;

(E) presentation of training addressing an education law topic delivered to district or university staff or lawyers in which continuing legal education credit is awarded to the speaker or attendees;

(F) service as legal advisor to the negotiating team of an educational institution through completion of a collective bargaining agreement; or

(G) other miscellaneous activities performed as lead lawyer on a discrete and describable education law matter for an educational institution or party and which the committee determines reflects substantial involvement in the practice of education law.

(c) Additional Points. The education law certification committee or the board of legal specialization and education may increase the number of points granted for activities worth 4 or 5 points for good cause shown, including the significant impact of a particular case on a question of education law.

(d) Peer Review. The applicant must submit the names and addresses of 5 individuals, at least 4 of whom are lawyers and 1 of whom is a federal, state, or administrative law judge before whom the applicant has appeared within the past 5 years preceding the application date to complete peer review forms. The applicant may provide the name and address of the head of an educational institution (or a member of a collegiate body that serves as the head of the educational institution) in lieu of a judicial reference if the applicant has advised or appeared before that person within the 5-year period preceding the application date. The lawyer references must be members of The Florida Bar and may not be persons who practice currently in the applicant’s law firm nor employed in the same law department at the same educational institution as the applicant at the time the application is filed. The board of legal specialization and education and the education law certification committee may authorize references from nonlawyers.

(e) Education. The applicant must complete 50 credit hours of approved continuing legal education in education law during the 3-year period immediately preceding the application date.

(f) Examination. The applicant must pass an examination administered uniformly to all applicants to demonstrate sufficient knowledge, skills, proficiency, experience, and professionalism in education law to justify the representation of special competence in education law to the legal profession and the public. New subchapter added June 11, 2009, (SC08-1981), (11 So.3d 343); amended and effective October 6, 2017 by Board of Governors; amended and effective December 4, 2020 by The Florida Bar Board of Governors.