IASA Legal Support Program
A primary aim of the IASA is to support the administrator and assure due process by providing legal assistance to members in job-related legal actions or proceedings. One of the ways IASA meets this goal is to provide a program of assistance to active members whose dues are a percentage of their gross annual salary.
For each year of continuous membership from July 1993, a member earns $500 in the Legal Support Program. The amount of support available increases by $500 for each year of continuous active membership with a $5,000 total amount of financial support available per member. The first $500 of legal fees and expenses are the responsibility of the member.
After receiving assistance from the LSP, the amount available is reduced by the amount expended on the member's behalf; however, the fund does rejuvenate itself by $500 for each additional year of continuous active membership after the program has been accessed. Only one request for assistance per legal action will be considered.
CONSIDERATION OF REQUESTS: The IASA considers requests for LSP assistance in the order in which they are received. Once the amount set aside to fund the LSP for any year has been depleted, assistance for that year will no longer be available. LSP funds may also be used to finance IASA's participation in cases of significant statewide interest as approved by the board of directors upon the recommendation of the Ethics and Welfare Committee.
WHAT THE LSP IS NOT: The LSP is intended to improve the quality of education administration and provide financial support to IASA members. It is not a plan of insurance that entitles members to receive assistance in all cases.
CRITERIA FOR ASSISTANCE: To determine a member's eligibility for legal assistance, the following criteria will be assessed:
The individual requesting assistance must be an active member of the IASA at the time of the occurrence leading to legal action, at the time of the actual legal action and at the time the request for assistance is submitted.
The legal proceeding for which assistance is requested must involve issues that concern the due process rights of the member, that are of general concern to education professionals, or that directly impact the member's employment status.
The relation between the legal action and policies of local, state or national associations will not be criteria for accepting or rejecting an application.
If the member has access to another legal assistance program or policy, that source will be considered a primary source of legal assistance. The IASA will not contribute legal assistance until the primary source of legal assistance has been exhausted.
An additional factor that will be considered is whether the claim is duplicative, repetitive and/or already responded to in another case in that school district. If a request for assistance places IASA in a position where the interest of two or more members are in conflict, IASA reserves the right to determine whether or not to fund the request.
WHAT IS EXCLUDED FROM ASSISTANCE?: The following types of cases are excluded from LSP assistance:
Cases arising out of bargaining negotiations.
Criminal actions, unless the following conditions apply:
(1) the charges are related to or arise out of the member's employment; AND
(2) the member is adjudicated innocent or not guilty.
Cases arising from or related to management decisions, the defense of which is properly the legal responsibility of the school district.
Any occurrence that happened prior to 12:01 a.m., July 1, 1993.
