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Jessica Moore, Esq.
jessica@education-rights.com
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JESSICA MOORE, ESQ.
Jessica is a partner with AW and has worked with the firm since 2017. She began as an intern as part of an undergraduate class assignment and made an immediate positive impact. Even before law school, Jessica developed and managed the firm’s intake system. After completing her first year at Capital University Law School, she shifted to the role of law clerk, researching and writing on a variety of education-related issues. Jessica was in the top two of her Legal Research and Writing class in law school and applied those skills to her work with the firm for all three years of law school — and now as an attorney and partner. Jessica also served as the firm’s Office Manager in her last year in law school and continues to volunteer for the firm’s Special Education Legal Clinic.
Upon graduation from law school and passage of the bar exam, Jessica became an education attorney with the firm (with 4 years of education law exposure with the firm prior to graduation). She now works in the practice areas of college code of conduct and academic misconduct, k12 suspension/expulsion and assist in a variety of other k12 education matters.
Her attention-to-detail, combined with her experience in all facets of education law, have made her a very effective advocate for our clients.
Jessica is a proud Buckeye, graduating summa cum laude with a double major in Criminology and Sociology from The Ohio State University. When not advocating for her clients, she enjoys spending time with her dog, Kaya.
Education
The Ohio State University, B.A., 2018; Summa Cum Laude
Capital University Law School, J.D., 2021; Magna Cum Laude
Bar Admissions
Ohio, 2021; U.S. District Court, SD Ohio 2023
Practice Areas
k12 School Law, Student Rights, Special Education, College Dismissal
Affiliations
Ohio State Bar Association; Columbus Bar Association
Presentations + Trainings
Co-Presenter, Effective Strategies for Reporting and Addressing Bullying & Harassment, AW Student Rights Conference, July 2024
Co-Presenter, Detention, Suspension, Expulsion: Navigating K-12 Student Discipline, AW Student Rights Conference, July 2024
Recent Representative Cases for Jessica Moore*
k12 Discipline Cases (Suspension/Expulsion)*
Assisted a 6th grade student in an expulsion hearing after he made an inappropriate comment on the bus. The school understood that the student should not receive an expulsion for his behavior and agreed to place the expulsion in abeyance and allow the student to return back to school after his suspension was up.
Represented 5th grader in an expulsion proceeding, resulting in an abeyance ("set-aside") agreement, allowing the student to attend in an alternative environment for the remainder of the semester.
Assisted an 11th grade student in the expulsion hearing process after she defended herself from an unprovoked attack from another student. The school recognized the circumstance and chose not to expel the student.
Achieved reduced suspension and avoided expulsion for a HS student who made an inappropriate comment. Expulsion was quickly taken off the table and the District agreed to end the suspension early, allowing the student to return to school the following day.
Assisted a client accused of bringing prohibited items on school property with expulsion hearing, resulting in an agreement to place expulsion in abeyance, allowing the student to finish senior year and graduate on time.
After MS student made inappropriate but private statements to a friend, we helped explain the situation and get an expulsion set aside so the student could return to school, continue classes and learn from his conduct.
Negotiated with a private religious school resulting in the school allowing student to voluntarily withdrawal in lieu of an expulsion, giving student the ability to enroll in the local public school and graduate on time.
Avoided an expulsion for a 4th grade student who was falsely accused of making a threat at the school.
A senior in high school was recommended for expulsion right before graduation for making an inappropriate statement. The student expressed remorse and had no prior disciplinary history. We worked with the school and avoided an expulsion in exchange for community service. The student was able to graduate on time, avoid an expulsion, and keep his college scholarship.
Negotiated abeyance agreement in lieu of expulsion for a middle school student including terms that were appropriate to the situation.
Avoided an expulsion for high school student who had allegedly brought drug paraphernalia to school.
Student was disciplined for behavior that was not intentional. The disciplinary record did not reflect that the student had no intent. We worked with the school to change the “charge” on the disciplinary record to make the disciplinary record more accurate.
Middle school student was suspended with a recommendation for expulsion for fighting. This student had several behavioral referrals previously that the district considered. However, in the hearing we were able to show that these behaviors were (1) the result of a disability and (2) were a reaction to many incidents of racism. The school agreed not to expel the student and we worked with them to initiate accommodations and a plan for reporting future incidents.
Helped remove a suspension for a high school student who was disciplined for behavior that was a direct manifestation of his disability (ADHD).
Helped avoid expulsion for a high school student accused of vaping in the school restroom.
Avoided an expulsion and received a lesser suspension for a high school student accused of vaping on school property.
Avoided expulsion for a middle school student who was issued a disproportionate sanction by a school due to misconduct on a school bus.
Assisted in expunging a student’s entire disciplinary record after the school violated the student’s due process rights.
Helped a HS student avoid expulsion after being accused of using a water gun on private property.
Middle school student was suspended; however, the disciplinary record was misleading and the school initially denied the parents the ability to appeal. We communicated with school’s legal counsel and agreed to update the disciplinary records to reflect the actual facts.
Avoided expulsion for a high school student who made an inappropriate joke at school. Provided school with additional diagnoses to update the student’s IEP in order to get additional services/accommodations in place.
Assisted a client in getting an expulsion (including the listed code of conduct violation) reduced following an incident that was taken entirely out of context.
9th grade student was falsely accused of violating the student code of conduct after being bullying by the same students. Client was suspended with a recommendation for expulsion. Despite the student admitting to some of the behavior, we worked with the school to avoid an expulsion and create a safety plan for the student upon his return to the school.
Assisted client in modifying expulsion for a middle school student, resulting in the student’s ability to return to school 3 weeks earlier.
Avoided expulsion for a high school student who made inappropriate comments on social media. Worked cooperatively with the school to update the student’s IEP to include additional services.
Worked with a school to modify an expulsion abeyance agreement without going through the expulsion appeal process.
Following a fight at school by a high school student-client, assisted the student to avoid removal from school and worked with the school to obtain anger management counseling for the student.
Helped avoid discipline and removal from school for a middle school student who made a social media post that was not threatening (included a list of his least favorite people in the class).
5th grade student was suspended and recommended for expulsion for an incident on the school bus. Despite many prior behavioral incidents, we worked with the school to avoid an expulsion, allowing the student to return to school after a short suspension. We also secured several support services to help the student progress educationally.
After MS student was suspended for 10 days with a recommendation for expulsion, we identified significant procedural errors made by the school, resulting in removal of the discipline from the student’s record.
Helped a talented and accomplished female high school student, with an unblemished discipline record, continue in school without substantial disclipline after allegedly engaging in inappropriate behavior with her boyfriend at school.
8th grade student was recommended for expulsion. After informing the school that they violated many of the student's rights, the school agreed to take expulsion off the table, which allowed the student to return to school the following day.
Avoided an expulsion for a middle school student who initiated a fight with a student who had been bullying him.
Middle school student with several prior disciplinary incidents, and with a behavior contract in place, was suspended with a recommendation for expulsion. Worked with the school to give the student another chance, avoided expulsion and secured additional supports for the student.
School had concerns about middle school student’s mental health after he made some comments to other students. Worked with the school and agreed to an abeyance agreement in lieu of an expulsion, and then met with the school to discuss support services for the student.
High school student was suspended with a recommendation for expulsion after a second incident of fighting. These were unique circumstances as the initial altercation involved the student defending another student who was attacked, while the second altercation involved the student being attacked by the same students at a later date. We worked together with the school district and counsel to allow the student to continue the school online and placing the expulsion in abeyance.
Suspension rescinded for high school senior who was initially suspended for fighting. We were able to show that the students was defending himself in the fight after numerous threats made toward him by the assailant.
Following suspension of an 8th grade student and recommendation for expulsion for fighting, I represented the student in the expulsion hearing, helped to explain the circumstances surrounding the fight to the hearing officer, and worked with the school to allow the student to safely continue attending school for the remainder of the year without an expulsion on his record.
Assisted a student secure and negotiate a Consent Agreement which avoid a termination hearing, allowing the student to finish her remaining few hours before graduation.
5th Grade student was recommended for expulsion following extensive bullying and a false accusation. Worked with the District to avoid an expulsion and to provide safety for the student moving forward.
Achieved expulsion abeyance for 5th Grade student accused of damaging school property.
After 8th grade student was suspended and recommended for expulsion, we identified years of reported but unaddressed bullying, and the expulsion was averted.
k12 Miscelleneous Cases*
Helped parents secure a copy of son's cumulative education records from school district, and following appearance as student's counsel, worked with the school district to ensure educational issues would be addressed.
Assisted client in requesting personnel records for a school staff member that parents had concerns about and provided guidance to clients about how to address their concerns.
Negotiated with a school district to correct a student’s grades to reflect incompletes after the school district incorrectly refused to honor the student’s request to withdrawal.
Assisted a client in requesting and accessing public records from the local school district that they were otherwise refusing to provide.
Assisted parent in lifting 2-year ban from entering school property following a minor Covid-related policy violation, which allowed the parent to participate in their child's school activities.
Teacher was acting inappropriate with a 4th grade student. Helped the family in the Title 9 process with the school district, resulting in the teacher resigning.
Helped the client ensure that a formal reprimand was placed in a school staff member’s personnel file after the staff member violated the student’s privacy rights.
Middle school student was being bullied. We worked with the school to build a strong safety plan and ensured that the safety plan applied to the school bus as well.
Submitted a comprehensive bullying and harassment complaint for a middle school student who experienced racism from several other students. District took appropriate action and the student is now thriving.
Assisted a client in viewing video footage from an incident on the bus after the school district initially refused access.
Assisted a client in preparing for a Manifestation Determination Review for a student who attempted suicide and helped find supportive services for student.
Assisted a client in notifying the school about several bullying incidents and helped the client supplement the record with a statement that explains how a piece of the student's record was inaccurate.
Assisted a private high school student in obtaining approval for early graduation after an initial denial.
Worked with a school to create a comprehensive safety plan for a student who was being harassed at school.
Successfully assisted clients through the mediation process with the Department of Education after the school failed to provide special education services to the student.
Filed a complaint with the USDOE Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for racial discrimination by a school district which commenced an investigation for all claims.
6th grade student was suspended and recommended for expulsion for fighting another student who had been bullying her for 2 years. While in the expulsion hearing, the school district agreed to take expulsion off the table and worked with the family in creating a safety plan for the student as a way to help prevent future bullying.
Two siblings were forced to change school buildings because they moved out of the attendance zone for the school building they had been attending. We worked with the district to extend the deadline to find a new residence in the same attendance zone, which gave the family enough time to avoid switching schools.
High school senior was falsely accused of harassment. Assisted the client through the investigation process and resulted in the school finding in favor of the student. Assisted the client in expressing their concerns with the school following the investigation.
Assisted a client in filing a formal bullying harassment complaint with the school district. Worked with the District to immediately implement a safety plan. Several months later and there have been no more incidents and the student now feels comfortable in school.
8th Grade student was falsely accused of sexual harassment. Assisted the client throughout the entire Title IX process and addressed the inconsistencies in the allegations and the procedural flaws on the part of the District. Student was found not responsible for sexual harassment and was not disciplined.
Assisted a parent in requesting various public records from their child’s school district.
Helped client secure a resignation of a school district Superintendent who verbally abused a student with a disability.
Successfully negotiated a settlement for a family whose child was abused by a teacher.
College-Level Outcomes*
Successfully negotiated a settlement with a University on behalf of a Ph.D. student who was inappropriately removed from an educational opportunity.
Helped a medical school student get reinstated into the program after anxiety and personal circumstances led to her failure of two courses.
Filed an appeal after a student was dismissed from a sonography program for mistakenly submitting another student’s assignment. After an explanation was provided, the school reversed the dismissal and allowed the student to continue in the program without re-taking the course at issue.
Due to unclear and inconsistent policies, a college student client inadvertently missed a deadline that would have delayed her graduation. We worked with the university to secure an exception for the student, allowing her to graduate on time.
Assisted a former nursing student receive a partial tuition refund after the college improperly required the student to retake a class.
Obtained reinstatement for a nursing student who failed required courses by documenting the unique and personal circumstances that led to the failures, leading the college to reinstate the student into the program.
Achieved course passage and on-time graduation for a nursing student after she was falsely accused of cheating, a charge which came with the sanctions of course failure and missed graduation, by successfully appealing the bogus academic misconduct charge.
Successfully resolved matter for college student after the student’s graduation was delayed due to administrative failures by a University.
Submitted a comprehensive Complaint with the Office for Civil Rights for a student who was discriminated against by her university.
Successfully assisted nursing student through program reinstatement following dismissal.
Assisted international student receive a tuition credit when he withdrew and transferred to a new university after the allowed period of time.
Assisted a college student in removing a class from his transcript following university error.
After a college student was accused of violating a university’s academic integrity and professionalism policy and given the maximum sanction, we assisted the client in the appeal process resulting in a sanction that was proportionate to the conduct.
Successfully worked with a college to change the dismissal of a graduate student to an academic withdrawal so the student could transfer to another graduate program.
After graduate student was dismissed from the program for academic reasons (despite successfully completing the remediation plan issued by the university), assisted the client in appealing the dismissal, resulting in a reversal and client’s immediate return to the program.
Assisted college freshman in successfully appealing violations of the Student Code of Conduct.
*The results shown are not necessarily indicative of the results that could be expected in any other matter, as the circumstances of each case are unique and involve multiple factors to consider along with possible outcomes.