Education & Schools Expert Witnesses in Ohio

Education & Schools, School Safety - Standard of Care, Student & Staff Supervision, School Safety & Security, Playground Safety, Mandated Reporting, General & Special Education, IDEA / IEPs - Disabilities, Discipline Policies & Justice, Child Abuse, Child Sexual Abuse, Human Resources, Wrongful Termination, Staff Dev'l & Trainings, Board Policies & Regulations

Introduction Dr. Jon D. Sand brings more than 35 years of direct pre-K–12 experience to his work as an independent educational expert and consultant. He earned his Doctor of Education in K-12 Educational Leadership from USC, a Master of Science in Special Education from California Lutheran University, and a Bachelor of Arts from UCLA. He holds the full complement of teaching and administrative credentials for his field and advanced certifications in district operations. His expertise spans general and special education; due process; special needs eligibility and case management; human resources; school site safety and student supervision; personnel evaluation; and district governance and operations. Dr. Sand is recognized for his depth in curriculum, instruction, and assessment and for an exemplary record at every level of the profession. He has served with distinction as a classroom teacher—selected as a National Teacher of the Year by the Amgen Foundation – master and mentor teach...

Education & Schools, Child Abuse - school, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, child, student, Title IX, Title 9, mandatory reporting, school liability, student sexual abuse, standard of care, sexual misconduct, grooming, student safety, bullying, sex discrimination, child sexual abuse, defense expert, plaintiff expert, negligant hiring

20+ years as Professor and Director of an Educational Leadership Ph.D./Ed.D. Program. Experienced expert. Multi-award-winning teacher. Expert on state and federal mandates in hiring, supervision, retention, and prevention of educator sexual misconduct directed toward students in schools and other settings. Retained nationwide by plaintiffs and defendants on numerous abuse claims from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and through the present. For over two decades, taught doctoral and master’s degree students (who were K-12 superintendents, principals, teachers, coaches, counselors, and leaders of youth-serving organizations) to assess their operations, policies, and procedures in relation to mandatory reporting, federal law, other statutes, and best practices in student sexual abuse prevention. Taught Title IX (including statutes, regulations, and administrative guidelines), monitored Title IX program compliance, and was appointed by D'Youville University as a Title IX Task Force Member. W...

Psychology, Education & Schools - Autism, PTSD, ADHD, Assistive Technology, IEP, Individualized Education Plan, Due Process, Special Education, Psychoeducational Assessment, Neurodivergence, Abuse, Trauma, Custody, LGBTQIA+, LGBTQ, Parental Alienation, Education, Parenting

Dr. Adam Bruno is a licensed educational psychologist and a licensed marriage and family therapist. He has been working in the mental health field since 2006. Dr. Bruno specializes in the evaluation and treatment of both children and adults with autism, ADHD, trauma, intellectual disability, parental alienation, and other psychological disorders. Dr. Bruno currently has a private practice in Los Angeles where he provides services to children and adults online and in his office. He also provides services to children in schools. Dr. Bruno has given multiple trainings on disabilities, the IEP process, and provision of services to both providers and parents of children with disabilities. He is currently on the advisory board at Special Needs Network. As an expert witness, Dr. Bruno has multiple areas of expertise and has taken cases in multiple states. He is able to work both virtually and in person, and can conduct psychological, educational, and custody reviews and evaluations.

Chardon, Ohio

Education & Schools - Title IX, Title IX Expert Witness, Title IX Reports, Sexual Misconduct, Title IX policy, Title IX Investigations, Title IX Coaching, Title IX Hearings, Title IX Analysis, Higher Education Consulting, Pregnant & Parenting Policy, Sexual Harassment, Gender Discrimination, Pregnancy Discrimination

April L. Woodward, Esq., is a seasoned attorney and Title IX expert with a decade of experience in civil rights compliance and all aspects of Title IX compliance and Administration. She has served as a Compliance Investigator and Deputy Title IX Coordinator at Kent State University, where she independently conducted over 100 investigations involving sexual misconduct, domestic violence, stalking, and gender discrimination. She has also provided prevention training for NCAA Division I athletes and collaborated on victim support and education initiatives. Currently, as a Title IX consultant and attorney, she advises public and private educational institutions, delivering services such as interim Title IX coordination, external investigations, hearing adjudications, process advisor services, policy drafting, and expert witness work. She is trained in trauma-informed investigative techniques and has led Title IX trainings for K-12 and higher education institutions. Ms. Woodward has als...

GROVE CITY, Ohio

Education & Schools, School Safety - K–12 school safety, school violence prevention, school liability, negligent security school, standard of care school safety, duty of care K12 schools, school safety training, inadequate supervision, school threat assessment, targeted violence prevention, de-escalation training

Mr. Sigrist has more than four decades of continuous professional engagement with K-12 schools — first as a classroom teacher, then as a district-level Safety Director, and for the past decade as the founder and Chief Executive Officer of a school-safety consultancy that serves school districts across the United States and internationally. He has held concurrent service as a sworn law-enforcement officer since 1990, providing him with practitioner-level perspective on both sides of the school-police interface. Mr. Sigrist holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Ohio University and a Master of Science in Education Administration from the University of Dayton, and is a graduate of the Central Ohio Peace Officer's Training Academy. He has taught school safety and public-safety management at the university level for more than a decade as an Adjunct Professor at Franklin University, and he serves on the Editorial Advisory Council of Campus Safety Magazine, a leading pr...

Cincinnati, Ohio

Education & Schools, School Safety - schools, education, K-12, high school, middle school, school negligence, duty & standard of care, sexual abuse , supervision, principal, student injury, wrongful termination, standard of care, discipline, school culture, school injury, administration, teacher training, school safety, discrimination

35+ years in public education administration, teaching & policy: testifies on training & supervision of school personnel, abuse, discipline, discrimination, school accidents Dr. Rhodes offers extensive experience on multiple aspects of school-related liability, both elementary and secondary for both plaintiffs and defense. Dr. Rhodes is an exceptional analytical thinker and writer with keen insight, timely reports and compelling testimony. Founding Principal of the largest public U.S. urban STEM high school (2008). Founding Principal of the 1st environmental public high school in Ohio. Policy--former elected School Board member in large urban district. Skilled in school transformation, collaborative school design, leadership, experiential education, program design, school culture, discipline & multicultural education Developer of a unique innovative "T2" teacher hiring process. Articulate and engaging speaker on school policy, practice, and transformation. Rhodes has tr...

Cleveland, Ohio

School Safety, Education & Schools - School Security, School Safety, School Shooting, School Wrongful Death, School Assault, School Sexual Assault, School Rape, School Student Supervision, School Bullying, Standard of Care, SRO, School Police, School Resource Officers, Security Officers, School Training & Drills, School Bus, School Gangs, Custody, School Crisis Emergency

Dr. Kenneth S. Trump provides school security expert witness and litigation consulting services for plaintiff and defense attorneys engaged in PreK-12 school safety cases. With over 40 years of experience in school security, Dr. Trump offers authoritative insights into incidents involving school violence, negligence, liability, safety protocol failures, and standard of care issues. Ken is experienced as a school security expert witness on mass school shootings, school active shooter and other wrongful deaths, violent assaults with serious injuries, rape and other sexual assaults, violence, security, crisis/emergency preparedness protocols, and other school safety and security cases. Litigation issues may include, but not necessarily be limited to: • PreK-12 school crime, violence, and serious disciplinary incidents • School shootings, school active shooter/mass shooter events, wrongful death, and related cases • Assaults, gang violence, and other injuries • Rape and other sexual...

Stow, Ohio

School Safety, Education & Schools - school security, special needs security planning, active shooter drills, security assessment, duty of care, active shooter, emergency planning, university security, risk assessment, school shooting, lockdown, behavioral threats, workplace violence, school violence, insurance expert witness, physical security, negligent security

Professional Qualifications -K–12 school security and safety systems -Active threat and hostile event preparedness -Security risk assessment and mitigation -Civilian and law‑enforcement response coordination -School emergency planning, policy, and procedures -Duty of care, foreseeability, and reasonableness of preventive measures -Standards‑based practices for age‑appropriate and accessible safety planning Professional Qualifications -Principal Consultant for K–12 Education, COSECURE, a division of Cozen O’Connor, providing school security consulting services across North America and Europe. -Selected in 2024 to provide subject matter expertise to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS CISA) School Safety Task Force -Recognized by the Ohio Department of Homeland Security and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office as a subject matter expert in active threat response. -Board Certified Physical Security Professional (PSP) through A...