Spokane-based law firm Stevens Clay PS is expanding its team to help clients in the education sector navigate increasingly complex regulations. 

The 44-year-old firm has hired five employees — three attorneys, a paralegal, and a consultant — in the last year, says Garrett Williams, attorney and partner at Stevens Clay. The new additions assist in representing and counseling K-12 public institutions and over 100 school districts in Washington state as they deal with changing regulations, labor and employment issues, student discipline, public record compliance, real estate and contract issues, special education policies and procedures, and more.

Williams estimates the firm has grown 50% in the last five years. With the five new additions this past year, Stevens Clay now has 18 full-time employees.

Founded in Spokane by Paul Clay and Greg Stevens in 1982, the firm has long focused on educational and municipal law and regulation. Tony Anselmo, attorney and partner at Stevens Clay, notes that many state and federal regulations apply equally to cities and towns, but non-school entities represent only a fraction of the firm's workload.

“We have the occasion to help some of those entities that are not school districts here and there, but the bulk of our practice is the school districts," says Anselmo.

As the population increases, school districts in Spokane and across the state are increasingly filling larger roles in their communities by providing food, transportation, and mental health therapy resources to students, in addition to education, Williams says.

“Here in Washington, the laws (governing education) have become so complex,” says Williams. “It's a very dynamic environment, and so we find that by specializing in education, we're able to be more responsive to clients' needs, whether they're a small district in the middle of the state or a large district in one of the metropolitan areas.” 

Driving the legal complexities in the educational sector are ongoing legislative efforts by state and federal lawmakers to regulate school districts' expanded roles, leading to an ever-evolving legal landscape for schools, Williams says. Books and curriculum, parental rights, student speech, religious expression, gender identity, and athletics often involve overlapping constitutional, state, and federal law, for instance, turning everyday management choices into potential legal liabilities. 

“The biggest change over the last couple of decades has been the incursion of politics, as well as the complication of the laws,” explains Williams. “Every law begets another law.”

An example of growing legal complexity involves the Washington state Public Records Act, which requires public schools, school districts, and municipal entities to make their records available for public inspection and copying.

Parents, opposing counsel, special interest groups, and other entities are using the act in greater numbers, driving a substantial rise in the volume and complexity of requests over the last five years, Williams says. Stevens Clay works directly with districts to navigate and comply with these evolving state and federal records laws.

Additionally, laws around student discipline; harassment, intimidation, and bullying; special education; and Title IX also undergo revisions and updates, making education-focused attorneys and support staff a priority at the firm, Williams says.

Title IX is the landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.

To better serve clients and help relieve legal pressure, Stevens Clay provides statewide Public Records Act training for educators — a service Williams contends sets the firm apart from competing law firms.

The firm also offers tailored professional development to individual schools and districts statewide, covering areas such as collective bargaining, student discipline, special education law, and preparedness, he notes. 

“A large portion of our practice is traveling around the state and teaching teachers, principals, and superintendents how to follow and comply with these laws,” Williams says. “That's a huge component of our practice.”

Beyond conducting workshops, Williams says the firm prioritizes staying current on shifting municipal regulations — an expanding workload that's being driven by ongoing debates and policy updates across local, state, and federal levels. 

“Being nimble is something we have to be as attorneys practicing in this area,” he says. “Every time that the Legislature is in session, we have to have our eyes on that because it is such a dynamic area of law.”

Williams declines to disclose future expansion efforts, but says Stevens Clay has plans for continued growth. 

While many of the firm’s attorneys are licensed in Idaho and other states, most clients are based in Washington, notes Anselmo.

“There’s no bigger asset than the children in our communities, and no bigger priority than their education,” Anselmo says. “The goal is to let these educational institutions focus on students and comply with the laws they have to, so they can concentrate on (the) most important people in our communities.”