Kenneth A. Roos is known throughout the state for his expertise in education law. Having provided legal counsel to multiple school districts for over 25 years and as a veteran of well over 2,000 public school board meetings, there are few education law issues Mr. Roos has not confronted and handled in his education law career.

Currently, he serves as the solicitor for several public school districts in Southeastern Pennsylvania and provides legal advice and representation to numerous other public school districts and other educational and governmental entities. Mr. Roos is regularly asked to create or revise policies and provide advice to school district clients regarding the myriad of legal issues facing public school districts such as board governance, district operations, regulatory compliance, naming rights and advertising, and daily student and staff issues.

He is the past President (2006) of the Pennsylvania School Board Solicitors Association and is a frequent speaker at educational law seminars throughout the state. For fifteen straight years, Mr. Roos has been selected to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list. This exclusive list recognizes no more than the top five percent of attorneys in all of Pennsylvania. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Mr. Roos is former Chair of the Ambler Area YMCA Board of Directors and current President of the Ambler Theater Board of Directors.

Representative Matters

• Countless in-services for board members, school administrators, teachers, and other school district staff.
• Assisted the School District of Upper Dublin as it became the only school district in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to have its voters approve an electoral debt referendum in 2007.
• Obtained the first mandate waiver for single prime contractor for major school construction project in 2001; such mandate waivers have since been upheld by Pa. Supreme Court.
• Represented municipal and school district clients in numerous successful defense of employment discrimination cases in Federal Court, as well as before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Human Pennsylvania Relations Commission.
• Counseled school districts in successfully navigating the Charter School Application Review process including conducting hearings on Charter Applications.
• Successfully represented public school districts in a $17,000,000 class action over alleged “spot assessments.”
• Successfully represented Lower Merion School District in student redistricting case arising from the opening of the Belmont Hills Elementary School.

Speeches and Publications

• “Settling into the New Normal: Best Practices for Open Meetings, Executive Sessions and Sunshine Act Compliance in a Contentious Time.” Pennsylvania School Boards Solicitor’s Association Annual School Solicitors Symposium. July 8, 2022.
• “Best Practices for Open Meetings, Executive Sessions and Sunshine Act Compliance.” Pennsylvania School Boards Solicitor’s Association Annual School Solicitors Symposium. July 14, 2016.
• “The Elements of School Law and Organization.” Pennsylvania Association of School Business Official’s Organization (PASBO): “Elements of School Business Management” Series. April 26, 2016.
• “Trends in Employment Discrimination: Defending Against & Preventing Discrimination and Wage and Hour Cases.” Pennsylvania School Board Solicitors Association Symposium. July 17, 2015.
• “Extracting Value From a School District’s Naming and Other Licensing Rights: Legal Considerations.” Presentation at Montgomery County Intermediate Unit. February 3, 2013.
• “Life Cycle of Employee Records: From Creation to Shredder.” Pennsylvania Association of School Business Official’s Organization state-wide webcast. February 7, 2013.
• “The First Amendment and Public Schools.” Pennsylvania Bar Institute, School Law: Update on Important Issues. December 5 and 9, 2011.
• “Insurance Issues Related to Special Education Hearings.” Willis HRH Group Insurance Seminar. October 24, 2012.
• “Extracting Value From a School District’s Naming and Other Licensing Rights: Legal Considerations.” Pennsylvania School Boards Association Annual Conference Pre-Conference Workshop. October 18, 2011.
• “Records: What You Need to Know About Right-to-Know and Other Laws.” Pennsylvania Association of Pupil Services Administrators Conference. April 23, 2009.
• “Current Trends in Education Law.” Pennsylvania School Boards Association Spring Legal Roundup 2009. March 12, 2009.
• “Effectively Evaluating Staff Performance and Communicating with Employees to Improve Effectiveness.” Eastern Pennsylvania Association of School Personnel Administrators. May 14, 2008.
• “The Upper Dublin Debt Act Referendum: ‘A Series of Fortunate Events.’” Amy T. Brooks, Esq., co-presenter. Pennsylvania School Boards Solicitor’s Association Annual School Solicitors Symposium. July 12-13, 2007.
• “The First Amendment in Public Schools.” Pennsylvania School Boards Association Annual School Law Workshop. October 11, 2006.
• “Current Trends in Education Law.” Pennsylvania School Boards Association Spring Legal Roundup 2006. April 5, 2006.
• “Issues Arising in Extracurricular Program Management.” Co-presenter with Megan E. Shafer. Pennsylvania School Boards Association Annual School Law Workshop. October 26, 2006.
• “Current Trends in Education Law.” Pennsylvania School Boards Association Spring Legal Roundup 2005. March 31, 2005.
• “Current Trends in Education Law.” Pennsylvania School Boards Association Spring Legal Roundup 2004. April 20, 2004.
• “School Law Issues in Pennsylvania.” National Business Institute, Pennsylvania School Boards Association Spring Legal Roundup 2004. March 1, 2004.
• “Legal Ethics and the Superintendent Solicitor Relationship.” Pennsylvania School Boards Association School Law Workshop. June 27, 2003.
• “Police in the Schools.” Pennsylvania School Boards Association Annual School Law Workshop. October 2, 2002.
• “Ethics: The School Solicitor as Government Lawyer.” Pennsylvania School Boards Association School Law Update. June 29, 2002.
• “School Law in Pennsylvania.” National Business Institute. May 29, 2002.
• “Ethical Duties and Dilemmas of Township and Borough Solicitors.” Delaware Valley Insurance Trust. March 14, 2002.
• “School Law Issues in Pennsylvania.” National Business Institute. November 15, 2001.
• Pennsylvania School Boards Association Spring Legal Roundup. April 4, 2001.
• “School Law Issues in Pennsylvania.” National Business Institute. November 15, 2001.
• “Ethics: Classic Solicitor Land Mine.” Pennsylvania School Boards Association School Law Update. July 19, 2001.
• “School Law Issues in Pennsylvania.” National Business Institute. November 16, 1999.
• Pennsylvania School Boards Association Spring Legal Roundup. March 25, 1999.