John B. Comegno II, Founder and President of the Comegno Law Group, P.C., is recognized as a leading School Law practitioner, representing public and independent schools, Educational Services Commissions, third-party special education vendors, disabled individuals, and other members of the educational community.

A member of the bars of the State of New Jersey and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and accepted to practice in jurisdictions across the country, John has extensive experience in all facets of school law.

John is a cum laude graduate of Gettysburg College, and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the Wake Forest University School of Law. At Wake Forest, he served as Captain of the ATLA National Mock Trial Team, and was a member of the School of Law’s Moot Court and Honor Boards. John was also awarded the Order of Barristers, the CALI Award for excellence in Legal Research and Writing, and the Robert T. Goldberg Prize for Trial Advocacy and Ethics by the faculty of the School of Law.

John, along with his firm colleagues, serves as Solicitor or Special Counsel to over a dozen public and independent schools throughout the region. He regularly mediates special education disputes and tries Due Process Hearings. Working closely with schools, parents, special-needs students, and medical and other educational professionals to quickly deal with special education issues on a day-to-day basis, John has extensive experience dealing with disability-specific legal issues and is accustomed to providing quick and thorough legal advice.

John provides counsel regarding the eligibility, evaluation and classification process, and lectures extensively throughout the country on school law, including special education litigation and issues which arise during the IEP development and implementation process. John is also an adjunct professor of school law at the Graduate Schools of Education at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Delaware Valley College.

In addition to litigating matters arising under the IDEA and Section 504, John represents high school, college, graduate, and professional school students concerning testing under the Americans with Disabilities Act, including fighting for accommodations for the SATs, GREs, MCATs, and other standardized tests.

John also has extensive experience in handling general, day-to-day student issues. These range from compulsory education, student safety and disciplinary incidents, to constitutional concerns involving free speech and religious expression. He also lectures extensively regarding student confidentiality and the maintenance of student records and issues related to the retention and destruction of student records.

In our post-columbine age, student discipline and the review and handling of zero-tolerance and other policies concerning student behavior has become particularly important. John is regularly involved in emergent disciplinary matters, including the coordination of manifestation determination meetings and the analysis of disciplinary options involving students eligible for special education and related services. He has experience in analyzing zero-tolerance policies and balancing schools’ needs for proper discipline with constitutional protections.

State laws regarding public school contracts are complex. John regularly reviews public contracts, including bid specifications and plans, and assists schools in responding to the receipt of bids. He also provides advice on purchases made through the state agency and suggestions on emergency purchases, assists in the solicitation of quotes, and represents boards against emergent bid protests.

In addition to handling union negotiations, John is involved in a variety of labor/employment issues, including confidentiality and reporting requirements for teachers and staff and sexual harassment in the school setting, including teacher-to-teacher, teacher-to-student, and student-to-student harassment. He regularly handles arbitrations and Donaldson hearings, and certifies tenure charges.

John is a nationally-recognized lecturer on school law, and regularly presents to professional groups and associations, public and independent schools, parents’ groups, and other audiences throughout the United States.

John contributes his time to his community, serving as Chairman of the Burlington County Bridge Commission, as a member of the Board of Directors of CASA of Burlington County, the Ritz Theatre Company, the golf tournament committee of the Moorestown Education Foundation, the reunion class gift committee of the Gettysburg College Alumni Association, and chair of the golf tournament committee of the tri-county American Cancer Society. John also serves as a Cathecist in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults in the parish of St. John Newman and as a member of the Colebrook Society.

John is also a member of the American, New Jersey, Burlington County and Camden County Bar Associations, as well as the School Law and Litigation sections of the American Bar Association, the New Jersey School Boards and School Attorneys Associations, and the Education Law Association.