Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins’ partner Thomas M. Melody and associates Kaylee M. Hartman and Lily C. McKay will lead a session on student speech and cyberbullying at the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB) Joint Annual Conference at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 21, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

In “The Virtual School Gate: Student Speech and Cyberbullying,” Tom, Kaylee and Lily will explore how:

• students’ First Amendment rights apply when speech moves to social media
• schools can balance those rights with the dangers of cyberbullying, particularly when off-campus speech becomes an on-campus problem

Learn more or register here.

Tom’s practice spans the firm’s Library, Municipal, School and Corporate Law groups, with particular focus on labor and employment matters. He has negotiated many collective bargaining agreements and represents employers in all facets of labor and employment law, including contract administration and grievance arbitration, compliance with State and Federal labor and employment laws, and employment litigation in both State and Federal courts and administrative agencies.

Kaylee concentrates her practice in education, real estate and local government matters, drawing on her background in higher education administration, where she negotiated contracts, wrote department policy and advised students on university, municipal and state regulations.

Lily counsels clients in the firm’s Municipal and School Law groups on education, real estate, local government and litigation matters. She served as a law clerk at KTJ before joining the firm as an associate in 2024.

The IASB Joint Annual Conference brings together thousands of school leaders for three days of training, networking and peer support. It gives Illinois school board members, superintendents and business officials the chance to learn about topics shaping education, build leadership skills through hands-on training and connect with advocates and decision makers statewide.