Staff Attorney, Special Education

We need to output HTML fragment with headings

for sections: About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. Only include sections that have real specific content. Must not repeat job title. No Job ID etc. Remove boilerplate etc. We need to parse the posting and extract relevant content. Let's identify sections: - About the role: description of job duties overview. Could be first paragraph(s). The posting starts: "Under general supervision, the staff attorney for special education represents the Howard County Public School System..." That's description. We'll put that in

under

About the role

. - Responsibilities: list of duties. The posting includes "ESSENTIAL POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES" with bullet-like sentences. Also earlier description includes many duties. We'll combine into a

• list. - Requirements: Minimum qualifications? Could be "MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS". That includes Education, Certification/Licensure, Experience. We'll put under

  Requirements

  maybe. - Qualifications: Preferred qualifications? Could be separate. But we might combine Minimum and Preferred under Requirements and Qualifications? The instruction: use headings for sections like About the role, Responsibilities, Requirements, Qualifications, Skills, Benefits, Pay, Schedule. So we need separate Requirements and Qualifications. Minimum qualifications likely go under Requirements. Preferred qualifications under Qualifications. - Skills: maybe not explicitly listed; but we could infer from responsibilities? However we should not create a section if no specific content. The posting does not have a explicit "Skills" list. So we omit Skills section. - Benefits: posting mentions "BenefitsHCPSS offers a comprehensive benefits package for eligible employees. Information about additional benefits such as paid time off can be found in the negotiated agreement for employees in this bargaining unit." That's vague but mentions benefits package. It's not specific details like health insurance etc. The rule: do NOT create Benefits section unless posting actually states them. It does state there is a comprehensive benefits package, but no specifics. Is that enough? It says "BenefitsHCPSS offers a comprehensive benefits package for eligible employees." That's a statement about benefits. It's not placeholder like "not specified". It's a real statement. So we can include Benefits section with that sentence. - Pay: posting includes "CompensationThis is a 12-month per year position in the Executive employee unit. The minimum starting salary for this position is $120,000–$135,000 annually. Actual salary placement will be in accordance with the salary procedures of the Howard County Public School System which considers relevant prior experience. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, this position is exempt from overtime." That's specific pay range. So include Pay section. - Schedule: posting includes "Telework ProgramThis position requires work onsite and is also eligible for a telework schedule. Telework schedules will be determined by the department and/or supervisor. Telework will be subject to approval and based on the needs of the department and the school system." Also earlier "Working HoursThe position may occasionally be required to work evening hours due to hearing schedules and the office of administrative hearing requirements." That's schedule info. So include Schedule section. We also have "ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS Working Hours". That's schedule. We also have "EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION" includes Compensation, Telework Program, Retirement, Benefits, Pre-Employment Requirements etc. We'll extract relevant. We need to preserve ALL substantive information; do not invent or summarize away detail. So we need to include details like retirement contribution 7%, etc. That's part of Benefits? Actually retirement is separate but could be included under Benefits? The instruction: we have Benefits heading; we could include retirement info there as part of benefits. But we also have Pay heading. We could also include Retirement under Benefits as it's a benefit. However we need to preserve all substantive info; we can include retirement details in Benefits section. Also Pre-Employment Requirements: references, fingerprinting, background check, Maryland Employment History Review, physical exam/drug testing, identification, E-Verify. That's substantive; could be placed under Requirements? Or maybe under a separate section? Not in headings list. Could be folded into Requirements or Qualifications? Probably under Requirements as they are requirements for employment. But the heading "Requirements" is for minimum qualifications; but we could also include pre-employment requirements there. However we must not invent sections; we can include them under Requirements as a list. But we need to avoid duplication. Let's extract content. Let's rewrite content in own words? Must preserve all substantive information; we can rephrase but must not lose detail. Safer to keep original sentences but maybe adjust formatting. We'll produce HTML:

  About the role

  Under general supervision, the staff attorney for special education represents the Howard County Public School System in matters related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 at mediation conferences, resolution sessions, and due process hearings. The staff attorney also supports schools by attending Individualized Education Program (IEP) team meetings, participating in case conferences, and providing information regarding IDEA and Section 504. The staff attorney provides professional development to ensure compliance with special education law and regulations in conjunction with the Department of Special Education. The staff attorney may represent the school system in student-related administrative matters, including student discipline, residency, and kindergarten admission. The staff attorney provides a variety of legal services as directed by the General Counsel and Assistant General Counsel. The staff attorney will support the school system’s mission by providing high-quality legal support to schools and staff as well as ensuring the provision of legally required services.

  Responsibilities

  • Represent the school system at mediation conferences, resolution sessions, and/or due process hearings regarding IDEA complaints.
  • Evaluate cases and, when appropriate, negotiate settlement agreements, and consider requests for expert and attorney’s fees.
  • Provide legal advice regarding IDEA to school-based members of the IEP team and participate in IEP team meetings as directed by the General Counsel or as requested by the Department of Special Education.
  • Participate and provide professional development regarding compliance requirements of IDEA, COMAR, and case law through the Department of Special Education and to individual schools, as requested.
  • Review statutory amendments, regulations, judicial decisions, and federal and state agency decisions to keep staff current on recent changes in obligations to students under IDEA.
  • Respond to complaints, correspondence and questions regarding special education and Section 504 issues, conduct legal research on issues, formulate legal opinions, and provide advice.
  • Represent the Superintendent at administrative hearings and perform other duties as assigned.

  Requirements

  Minimum Qualifications

  • Education: Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.
  • Certification/Licensure: Admission to the Maryland Bar.
  • Experience: Three (3) years of experience practicing law; including one (1) year experience in special education law, education law, or administrative law.

  Pre‑Employment Requirements

  • Professional references will be contacted prior to any offer; recommended candidates must provide references from current and recent supervisors.
  • All employees must be fingerprinted, undergo a criminal background investigation, and successfully complete the Maryland Employment History Review (Section 6‑113.2 of the Education Article).
  • Some positions may require completion of a physical examination and/or drug testing.
  • Applicants offered employment must provide proper identification and documentation of eligibility for employment in the United States; HCPSS participates in E‑Verify and does not offer employee sponsorship.

  Qualifications

  Preferred Qualifications

  • At least one (1) year of experience in handling administrative appeals, preferably special education due process matters.

  Benefits

  • HCPSS offers a comprehensive benefits package for eligible employees; details such as paid time off are available in the negotiated agreement for this bargaining unit.
  • Membership in the Maryland State Retirement Agency (MSRA) pension plan is a mandatory condition of employment for eligible employees; employees cannot reject membership. The annual contribution to the pension plan is 7% of the employee’s annual salary.

  Pay

  This is a 12‑month per year position in the Executive employee unit. The minimum starting salary is $120,000–$135,000 annually. Actual salary placement follows HCPSS salary procedures, considering relevant prior experience. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the position is exempt from overtime.

  Schedule

  • The position may occasionally require evening work due to hearing schedules and Office of Administrative Hearing requirements.
  • Work is primarily onsite; the position is eligible for a telework schedule determined by the department and/or supervisor, subject to approval and based on department and school system needs.
  We need to ensure we didn't include any boilerplate like EEO, navigation, etc. We removed those. Check for any repeated content: we included the description of role; we also included responsibilities list; we included minimum qualifications; we included preferred qualifications; we included benefits; pay; schedule. We omitted "Skills" section as no specific content. We preserved all substantive info: the retirement contribution, telework, etc. Check if any content missing: The posting also mentions "The staff attorney provides professional development to ensure compliance with special education law and regulations in conjunction with the Department of Special Education." Already in About the role and responsibilities. Also "The staff attorney may represent the school system in student-related administrative matters, including student discipline, residency, and kindergarten admission." Included. Also "The staff attorney provides a variety of legal services as directed by the General Counsel and Assistant General Counsel." Included. Also "The staff attorney will support the school system’s mission by providing high-quality legal support to schools and staff as well as ensuring the provision of legally required services." Included. Also "MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Applicants must meet all qualifications below to be considered for the vacancy." We captured. Also "PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS The ideal candidate for this role will also possess a combination of the additional qualifications below. If you don’t meet every one of the preferred qualifications, we still encourage you to apply, as we welcome applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences." We captured the preferred qualification but omitted the encouraging sentence; that's boilerplate? It's not essential substantive; it's more encouragement. Could be considered boilerplate but it's not navigation/legal/EEO. It's a statement encouraging applicants; maybe we should keep? The instruction: "Remove cookie/navigation/legal/EEO/equal-opportunity/scam-warning boilerplate, duplicated lines, and application instructions." This is not exactly those categories; it's more of a generic encouraging statement. It's not substantive about the job. Might be considered boilerplate? It's not EEO; it's just encouraging. Safer to keep? The instruction says preserve ALL substantive information; does that statement count as substantive? It's not about job duties or qualifications; it's just encouraging. I'd lean to omit as it's filler. It's not duplicated lines. But it's not essential. I'd omit. Also "ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS Working HoursThe position may occasionally be required to work evening hours due to hearing schedules and the office of administrative hearing requirements." We captured as schedule. Also "APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS Complete applications must be submitted, and once your application has been submitted, you will not be able to add documentation or make any changes. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed application. Supplemental Application Questions