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Lawrence Altman, J.D.

Adjunct Professor, Business School

Lawrence J. Altman is an adjunct professor at Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri. Until he retired in January of 2016, Mr. Altman was the Special Education Lead Attorney and Compliance Officer for Kansas City Public Schools and the Title IX Coordinator for the Kansas City School District. Prior to that position, he was a practicing attorney in St. Louis County for 34 years. In addition to membership in the Missouri Bar, he is a member of the Kansas City Bar Association and the National School Board Association’s Counsel of School Attorneys. What’s more, he is a distinguished member of the American Law Society. In April of 2019, Mr. Altman was recognized as a Pinnacle Top Professor of 2019 for his work as Adjunct Professor with Avila University.

Two of Mr. Altman’s areas of focus and expertise throughout his career have been assistance for children with special needs who qualified for services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act and those needing accommodations under Section 504. In 2015, the National School Board Association appointed him to serve on the in-house school counsel committee of the Council of School Attorneys Association. He was honored by the Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center in St. Louis as one of their Advocates of the Year.

Children and clients are not the only ones to benefit from his services. He has worked to help others, as an active mentor in the Missouri Lawyers Assistance Program, where he was awarded the Warren Welliver Award for his efforts, compassion and concern regarding the emotional and mental health needs of those in the profession. In 2014, Mr. Altman was appointed by the Missouri Bar to serve as chairperson for its Joint Task Force on Lawyers Helping Lawyers and as the co-chair Missouri Lawyer’s Assistance Program. In 2015, the American Bar Association appointed him to serve on the Commission on Lawyer Assistance Program’s Senior Lawyer Committee.

Mr. Altman also served on the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Legislative Workgroup for the Prevention of Student Bullying and Suicide, as chair for the committee tasked with developing model policies to prevent student bullying.

With over 39 presentations and 19 published articles regarding legal issues to his credit, Mr. Altman continues to write and present on current topics, including assistance and compliance with federal and state laws affecting educational venues. In the fall of 2016, his first book, “From Bullying to Sexual Violence” that he co-authored was published. Mr. Altman’s second book, Bullying Navigator”, was published in June of 2020.

Business Law
Washington University, B.S. Physics; St. Louis University, School of Law, J.D.
"Publications (including, but not limited to): • “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” (Missouri Lawyer’s Weekly) • “The Law of Special Education, IDEA and Section 504” (Cross Country Education) • “Arming School Staff: The Debate Continues” (National School Board Association) • “Summation of ‘Questions and Answers on Title IX and Sexual Violence’ Published by the Office of Civil Rights” (Institute for Bullying) • “Title IX Coverage of Transgender Students: OCR Enforcement Position V Court Liability Standards” (National School Board Association) • “Making Mental Health a Priority” (St. Louis Lawyer) • “How Schools Should Respond to Students with Mental Health Issues” (National School Board Association) • “From Bullying to Sexual Violence” (Authorhouse Book Publications) • “Do Public Schools Have Assistance Obligations To Students Who Suffer From The Bystander Effect” (National School Board Association) • “Summation and Response to the 2018 Review of Educational Services Provided to Nikolas Cruz by Boward County Schools” • “Summation of United States Secret Service’s Guide for Preventing School Violence”, Continental Who’s Who Inner Circle Executive Magazine, Summer of 2019 • “Reality Check: Racial Discrimination Still Present in America’s Schools”, Continental Who’s Who Inner Circle Executive Magazine, Winter of 2020 • “Bullying Navigator. The Ultimate Parent’s Guide to Protect Your Child from Bullying and Sexual Violence at School” (Stratton Press, June 2020) • “Summation of September 2019 National Center for School Mental Health Publication” (National School Board Association, June 2020) • “Words Have Meaning: How Transgender and Special Education Rights Were Protected” (National School Board Association, January 2021) • “Has Section 504 Been Overlooked” (Rethinking Behavior, Spring 2021, Midwest Symposium for Leadership in Behavior Disorders) • “Developing Policies, Protocols and Procedures for Addressing Gender, Racial, Sexual Orientation Discrimination for Businesses, Schools and Organizations” Continental Who’s Who Inner Circle Executive Magazine, Spring of 2021
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