The report lays out the role of the dispute resolution system and due process available under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and comes at a time when certain rights and funding for students with disabilities are in jeopardy. 

The new report provides parents, caregivers, and students with a guide for how they can use the dispute resolution system and file for due process under current law. 

Due process can be used to resolve disputes between parents and caregivers and school districts as it relates to a child’s right to a Free Appropriate Public Education. Examples can include requesting a due process hearing for denied services or mediation to settle Individualized Education Program disputes. 

COPAA argues that recent inaccurate portrayals of due process suggest it is a system “spiraling into chaos – one in which families of children with disabilities frequently file for hearings, where due process is always lengthy and adversarial, and where the process rarely leads to meaningful change…” 

But, as COPAA points out, due process hearings are actually the backbone of protecting the rights of students with disabilities and must be preserved.

The COPAA report highlights that, while incredibly rare, due process serves as a “critical safeguard when disagreements arise between families and schools, but is not available to all families, especially for those with limited financial resources, whose first language is not English, and for those living in rural areas.”   

The COPAA report also lays out proposals that not only “maintain and advance student and parent protections under IDEA and other statutes” but also provide more IEP trainings for educators and create a cost-free dispute resolution option for families. 

The attorneys at Kennedy Hunt P.C. are experts in education law and champions for students and families. Our attorneys exclusively represent students and have filed many cases against school districts over alleged civil rights violations.  Read more about the education law cases we take on here. If you or someone you know has been a victim of discrimination, the skilled attorneys at Kennedy Hunt, P.C. can help. Fill out a questionnaire so we can understand your claim.   

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According to the lawsuit, Hospitality Staffing Solutions, LLC, Ramon Avlia d/b/a G&A Services, and Amazon.com Services LLC were all affiliated with Kellermeyer Bergensons Services, LLC between March 2020 and August 2025.

According to the lawsuit, our clients typically worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, thus entitling them to overtime compensation. The lawsuit alleges that the Defendants refused to pay our clients and similarly situated employees for working more than forty (40) hours per week, causing our clients and other employees to be deprived of their earned wages.

The lawsuit states that our clients are seeking certification of a class of Missouri employees defined as: “[a]ll current or former employees of Defendants who worked within the State of Missouri within three years before the date this lawsuit was filed and who were not paid compensation for hours they worked for Defendants, including time automatically deducted from their checks for breaks when they were required to be on call and for time worked in excess of forty hours.”

This case is ongoing. For more information, contact attorney Nicole Matlock at nmatlock@kennedyhuntlaw.com. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, our skilled attorneys at Kennedy Hunt, P.C. may be able to help you. Fill out a questionnaire so we can understand your claim.

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In 2018, our client filed a lawsuit against the school district, alleging that the district failed to promote her to a high school principal position because of racial discrimination. 

In July 2020, the district installed a new Superintendent. The lawsuit alleges that the Superintendent requested a list of individuals who had sued CPSD and stated that he wanted to “get rid of” those individuals. 

Between 2021 and 2024, the lawsuit contains allegations that Defendant’s senior administrators repeatedly harassed and targeted our client because of her race and her prior protected activity. The lawsuit alleges that our client was told by CPSD senior administrators that she was considered “an angry Black woman” and that CPSD made baseless accusations of policy violations against our client. 

According to the lawsuit, CPSD did not treat similarly situated non-Black employees and/or employees who had not engaged in protected activity in this manner. 

The lawsuit states that in Spring 2024, our client started planning the middle school’s annual Back-to-School Bash, a community engagement event that she had organized and led for approximately eight years. 

By March 2024, our client had scheduled the Bash for Friday, August 16, 2024, reserved the venue, notified partner organizations, and informed CPSD of the date. Our client was the primary organizer and oversaw all event operations. 

On May 26, 2024, our client learned that CPSD’s superintendent scheduled the back-to-school Convocation to occur at the same date and time as the Bash. According to the lawsuit, the Convocation had never been held on a Friday afternoon, and when she learned of the conflict, our client immediately notified her supervisor and another senior administrative staff at CPSD. The lawsuit states that both were aware that our client’s attendance at the Bash was essential and did not inform our client at that time that she would be required to attend the Convocation instead. 

The lawsuit alleges that on August 7, 2024, the day after our client sent out the invitation for Bash to West Middle School Families, a senior administrative leader informed our client for the first time that she would be disciplined if she did not attend the Convocation. 

According to the lawsuit, CPSD refused to process our client’s request for time off so she could attend the Bash. Our client then attended the Bash rather than the Convocation.

The lawsuit states that on or about August 23, 2024, CPSD suspended our client and placed her on administrative leave, pending investigation, claiming our client violated District policy by failing to attend the Convocation and engaging in other misconduct. 

According to the lawsuit, other employees who were non-Black and/or had not engaged in protected activity also failed to attend the Convocation but were not suspended or disciplined. 

The lawsuit states that on or about November 12, 2024, Defendant informed our client that she would not be permitted to return to work and that her contract as Principal of West Middle School would not be renewed. Our client remained on administrative leave for the remainder of the 2024–2025 school year. On or about June 30, 2025, CPSD terminated our client’s employment. 

This case is ongoing. For more information, contact attorney Nicole Matlock at nmatlock@kennedyhuntlaw.com. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, our skilled attorneys at Kennedy Hunt, P.C. may be able to help you. Fill out a questionnaire so we can understand your claim. 

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Thomas Kennedy III, the firm’s founding attorney, is a passionate birdwatcher and has enjoyed leading the team at Kennedy Hunt P.C. on many warbler days over the years. 

On Warbler Days, the team has seen Yellow-rumped warblers, Mourning warblers, Tennessee warblers, Black-and-white warblers, Magnolia warblers, Nashville warblers, Common Yellowthroats, American Redstarts, Chestnut-sided warblers, Palm warblers, Ovenbirds, and Louisiana Waterthrushes.  

You can see photos of the Kennedy Hunt P.C. team enjoying Warbler Day in custom t-shirts and hats right here. 

Warblers are small, active songbirds known for their melodious, trilling songs. Warblers eat insects and are often found in gardens, woodlands, and marshes. They travel in packs from Central and South America to the Northern U.S. and Canada between March and early June.

Author and educator Laura Erikson designated May 11th as her personal Warbler Day in 1975. Erikson wrote in 2016, “Warblers are challenging puzzles, beautiful spirits, and wonderfully characteristic of our north woods.” 

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According to the lawsuit, our client began working for Cameo Consulting Group, LLC in or about September 2022. The lawsuit claims that our client’s work as a certified nuclear medicine technologist was integral to Cameo’s business. But according to the lawsuit, Cameo misclassified Plaintiff as a 1099 independent contractor rather than a full-time W-2 employee, allegedly in violation of the company’s own policies and the law.

According to the lawsuit, our client asked Cameo for clarification about her classification and Cameo’s compliance obligations. The lawsuit alleges that Cameo admitted in an email that our client’s 1099 classification did not comply with the law.

Following this, our client then contacted the U.S. Department of Labor to report the misclassification violation. The lawsuit states that our client’s communications with Cameo management and her report to the Department of Labor were protected activities, including the reporting of suspected legal violations and/or refusal to participate in unlawful practices.

The lawsuit alleges that after the violation was reported, Cameo’s conduct toward our client changed sharply. According to the lawsuit, by April 2025, our client was instructed to limit her hours to 20 hours per week, substantially reducing her compensation and materially changing the terms and conditions of her work. 

On or about June 13, 2025, our client filed for unemployment due to the reduction in her hours and resulting loss of income. The lawsuit states that Cameo opposed our client’s initial unemployment claim and falsely claimed that our client was not entitled to unemployment benefits because she was an independent contractor.

The lawsuit states that on or about July 25, 2025, Cameo sent our client a termination email that misleadingly claimed she resigned. 

The lawsuit alleges that after her termination, our client updated her unemployment claim, which Cameo also opposed, allegedly falsely claiming our client quit her employment with Cameo. Our client prevailed in the unemployment appeal hearing. But, according to the lawsuit, Cameo’s actions in mischaracterizing our client’s separation as a resignation were part of an ongoing effort to retaliate against our client, to conceal or minimize wrongdoing, and to interfere with her rights.

According to the lawsuit, after her termination, Cameo hired a male certified nuclear medicine technologist who was paid at a rate approximately 28% higher than the wage Cameo represented to our client as the maximum allowable W-2 rate. The lawsuit alleges that the male certified nuclear medicine technologist had 10 fewer years of experience than our client and no prior VA experience. 

The lawsuit continues: 

“Defendant’s disparate treatment and shifting explanations further support the stated reasons for reducing Plaintiff’s hours, removing her from the assignment, and labeling her as having resigned were pretextual. On or about September 19, 2025, Cameo paid Plaintiff $13,815.31, designated as ‘retro/back wages and benefits,’ confirming that Cameo improperly classified Plaintiff as a 1099. This payment did not make Plaintiff whole for the value of two years of lost benefits, the full scope of back pay, or the retaliation and related harms Plaintiff suffered.”

This case is ongoing. 

For more information, contact attorney Sarah Jane Hunt at sarahjane@kennedyhuntlaw.com. If you or someone you know has had their employment rights violated, our skilled attorneys at Kennedy Hunt, P.C. may be able to help you. Fill out a questionnaire so we can understand your claim. 

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