The Honorable Frank G. Jackson ’83, Mayor of Cleveland, to speak at welcoming reception Wednesday, August 28

CLEVELAND – The Education Law Association (ELA) is officially opening its new national headquarters within Cleveland State University’s Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, 1801 Euclid Avenue, with a welcoming reception Wednesday, August 28.

The reception will feature remarks from The Honorable Frank G. Jackson, mayor of Cleveland, who has made education reform a centerpiece of his legacy. Jackson is a 1983 graduate of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and received an honorary Doctor of Law from Cleveland State University in 2013. The reception will take place in the law school atrium from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and is open to the public.

The ELA’s mission is to improve education by promoting interest in and understanding of education law. The ELA provides unbiased information about current legal issues affecting education and the rights of those involved in education in both public and private K-12 schools, universities and colleges.

“Our association is pleased to have established this new collaborative relationship with Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and the College of Education at Cleveland State, and we look forward to working with the deans of both colleges and others on campus,” said Cate K. Smith, executive director of the ELA and a 1995 graduate of Cleveland-Marshall. “There are thriving legal and higher-education communities in Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio, and we hope to leverage those to increase the profile of our organization and to make information on legal issues for both K-12 and higher education available to a wider audience.”

“We look forward to the opportunities that hosting the ELA will bring to our students and the community,” said Cleveland-Marshall Dean Craig M. Boise. “Education law offers an exciting potential career path that our students will have unique chances to explore with the proximity of the association and its membership network. In combination with the recent joint appointment to the law school faculty of professor Ralph Mawdsley, a nationally recognized expert in special education law, this partnership strengthens the multidisciplinary approach to legal education that enriches the student experience at Cleveland-Marshall.”

Founded in 1954, the ELA was originally known as the National Organization on Legal Problems in Education. It has been located at the University of Dayton for the past 16 years. In connection with its move to Cleveland-Marshall, the ELA already has selected Cleveland as the host site for its 2015 annual conference.