This one-hour session brings together a school law attorney and a veteran behavior specialist to explore what’s actually required by law, where districts commonly fall short, and how directors and providers need to think differently about their roles to prevent service gaps.
About the Presenters
Cassie Black, Esquire, has 17 years of experience serving in Illinois school districts. Cassie Black is uniquely positioned to understand the needs of her clients and help them arrive at student-centric solutions.
Her previous work included roles as a school psychologist, assistant principal, director of student services and assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction. This valuable background now informs and enriches her legal practice.
As a school administrator, Cassie excelled at supporting students with diverse needs. She now advises school districts on a variety of special education issues and student matters involving residency, records, discipline, and rights and responsibilities.
She loves to run, travel, attend concerts, and read, especially legal thrillers and detective stories. She is a lifelong Colorado Rockies fan.
Brandy Samuell M. Ed. is a dedicated educator with over 32 years of experience. She has been involved in all facets of public education from classroom teacher to assistant superintendent. Brandy’s knowledge base spans general education, special education, mental health support, and school turnaround. She has experience working in charter, rural, suburban, urban, and virtual school settings. Brandy currently serves as the Director of Mental Health and Related Services at eLuma.
Brandy earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, Marketing, degree from Texas Tech University in 1989, and a Master of Education, School Counseling, degree from Texas Christian University in 2002. She has completed Post-Master’s work in Educational Diagnostics and Educational Leadership from the University of the Southwest. In addition, Brandy is certified in Critical Incident Stress Management; she has managed multiple school-related crises as well as provided crisis management and crisis response training for school staff and community-based first responders.
While Brandy has a broad scope of knowledge and interests, the majority of her career has been dedicated to supporting the emotional and behavioral needs of students as well as managing, coaching, and developing staff.
