Wesley E. Johnson

Wesley E. Johnson
Monroe, Louisiana
Associate, since 2002
phone 318-807-0924
fax 318-807-0925
email Email Me

Wesley Johnson focuses her practice in the area of preventive law advising clients in the areas of school law, employment law, and governance. She graduated from the University of Texas, School of Law and has been licensed to practice law in the state of Texas since 1999 and the state of Louisiana since October 2009. Prior to entering law school, Mrs. Johnson was a teacher with the Austin Independent School District. Mrs. Johnson began her legal career practicing general school law with Schwartz & Eichelbaum where she was an associate from 1999-2002. She litigated for the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) as a member of the Professional Discipline Unit before joining Escamilla & Poneck, LLP in 2002. Wesley served as legislative liason in 2005 for the Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education (TCASE) hired by TCASE to draft legislation; provide bill summaries to members; and negotiate with representatives of other organizations regarding aspects of legislation relevant to special education law in Texas. She has been a member of the University of Texas, School Law Conference planning committee since 2005. In 2014, she began serving as General Counsel for the University of Louisiana (“UL”) System. In that capacity, Wesley has coordinated all nine of the institutions within the UL System on policies and procedures involving federal and state laws including Title IX, Clery Act, Violence Against Women Act and the Campus SaVE Act.

Wesley is a member of the National Peanut Board’s Allergy Education Counsel and has served as an adjunct professor at Louisiana Tech University teaching public law and policy. In addition to her law degree, Mrs. Johnson also hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Louisiana Tech University (1992) and a Master’s Degree in Special Education from the University of Texas at Austin (1993). She is a member of the Texas Association of School Boards Council of School Attorneys as well as the National School Board Association Council of School Attorneys and the National Association of College and University Attorneys. She is licensed to practice in the Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas, all federal courts in Louisiana, and the Fifth Circuit.

Wesley’s most recent presentations include:
  • FMLA: New Regulations One Year Later, [author] (University of Texas School Law Conference, February 2010);
  • Sexual Orientation Issues in the Public Sector: Law and Ethics for the Educator (University of Louisiana at Monroe Featured Speaker: Diversity Forum March 16, 2011);
  • Is it Legal or Even Ethical? Law and Ethics for the Counselor, (Louisiana Counseling Association, Co-Presenter with Dr. Amy Yates, Louisiana Tech University, September 20, 2011);
  • Law Conference and Legal Updates for Student Support Services Personnel (Region XX, San Antonio, Texas, November 7, 2011);
  • Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Update for School Administrators (San Antonio Independent School District, December 2011);
  • Medical Issues Facing Louisiana’s Public Schools:  What are School Nurses, Teachers and Administrators to Do?  (ULM School Law Conference, April 30, 2012);
  • Legal Issues in the Classroom (Association of Professional Educators of Louisiana Annual Conference, Baton Rouge, LA, July 2012);
  • Title IX Staff Training and Title IX Appeals Committee Training (University of Louisiana at Monroe, August 2012);
  • Job Descriptions that Withstand Scrutiny Under Legal Fire (National School Board Association (NSBA) School Law Practice Seminar, Sante Fe, New Mexico, October 12, 2012);
  • Custody Issues in the Classroom (Region XX, San Antonio, Texas, November 2012);
  • Legal Lagniappe for School Administrators (Region XX, San Antonio, Texas, November 2012);
  • Bullying Panel Discussion (Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, LA February 2013);
  • Local Reform in the Modern Era presented with Dr. Marcia Arceneauz and Wayne Stewart (Loyola University of New Orleans College of Law Special Education in a New Era of Reform Symposium, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 1, 2013);
  • Special Education Legal Presentation (Northeast Louisiana Children’s Coalition What Works Conference, March 2013);
  • Special Education for the Regular Educator (Association of Professional Educator of Louisiana, Monroe, Louisiana, February 2013 and Alexandria, Louisiana, May, 2013);
  • Milk, Eggs, Peanuts…Oh My! (School Nutrition Association Annual National Conference, Kansas City, Missouri, July 15, 2013);
  • Student Discipline Training (Association of Professional Educators of Louisiana 2013 Leadership Conference, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 18, 2013);
  • Title IX Sexual Harassment Training for the Faculty and Staff (University of Louisiana at Monroe, August 2013);
  • Job Descriptions that Withstand Scrutiny Under Legal Fire (2013 EEOC EXCEL Training Conference Workshop, Denver, Colorado, August 28, 2013);
  • School Counselors In-Service [Ethics] (Comal Independent School District, November 13, 2013);
  • I ♥ Boobies! And Other Ambiguously Lewd or Vulgar Political and Social Student Speech [author], NSBA/COSA “Inquiry & Analysis,” December 2013);
  • Silencing Silent Speech:  Student and Employee Free Speech Rights (University of Texas School of Law, Education Law Conference, February 28, 2014);
  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act (University of Louisiana at Monroe and Society of Human Resources Management [SHRM] Conference, February and April 2014);
  • Age Discrimination in Employment; University of Louisiana System (April 2014);
  • Sexual Misconduct and High Education – Beyond Title IX (University of Louisiana Monroe, August 2014);
  • Immigration Issues and Public School Attendance: Registering and Serving Undocumented Students and Employer Compliance (COSA Webinar and Marcos Gemeots, August 13, 2014);
  • Silencing Silent Speech – First Amendment Technology Issues Involving Employees (TASA/TASB Convention September 2014);
  • Time to Play Custody in the Classroom (with John Norman, Director of Policies and Public Information for San Antonio ISD; TASA/TASB Convention September 2014);
  • Sexual Misconduct and Higher Education – Beyond Title IX (University of Louisiana System, November 2014);
  • Sexual Misconduct Issues and Higher Education – Beyond Title IX (Delta Community College, Monroe, Louisiana March 2015);
  • Managing Food Allergies in Schools; Panel Discussion; National School Board Association Conference, March 2015);
  • Family Medical Leave Act Compliance (Delta Community College, Monroe Louisiana, April 2015);
  • Intensive Half-Day Federal Law Training for Administrators and EEO/ADA Committ6ee Members (Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, Louisiana, April 2015);
  • Title IX Presentation – Bridging the Gap in Student Affairs, Louisiana Delta Community College, Student Affairs Retreat, June 11, 2015; and
  • A Guide to Advocacy for Children in School, Fourth Judicial District Court, Monroe, Louisiana, July 29, 2015.

Year Joined Organization:
2002

Areas of Practice:
Local Government
General Civil Practice
School Law
Employment Law

Bar Admissions:
Texas, 1999
Louisiana 2009
U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana

Education:
The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, Texas, 1999, J.D.
University of Texas, Austin, Texas, 1993, M.A.
Major: Special Education
Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana, 1992, B.A.
Honors: Magna Cum Laude
Major: Elementary Education

Professional Associations and Memberships:
State Bar of Texas, School Law Section
Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education
American Inns of Court
Louisiana 4th Judicial Bar Association
State Bar of Louisiana

Past Employment Positions:
Schwartz & Eichelbaum, Associate, 1999 – 2002
State Board for Educator Certification, Professional Discipline Unit, 2002
Austin Independent School District, Teacher, 1992 – 1996

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