Ms. Gallagher focuses much of her practice on Title IX, advising and training school employees on compliance and the daily impact of Title IX in school settings. Additionally, she investigates Title IX and other matters, and she is often appointed as a Title IX decision-maker and appeals officer.

Ms. Gallagher also litigates matters involving alleged IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title IX, First Amendment, and Civil Rights issues on behalf of educational entities in state and federal court and administrative agencies. Prior to joining Wisler Pearlstine, she practiced in various areas of civil litigation, including employment matters, restrictive covenants, and trade secrets.

In college, Ms. Gallagher worked as a journalist and wrote for various publications, including: The Associated Press, Philadelphia Daily News, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Allentown Morning Call, and McClatchy Newspapers.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

• Obtained dismissal of a Sunshine Act lawsuit filed against a school district regarding virtual school board meetings held during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Successfully represented a school district in a temporary restraining order proceeding, in which families argued that the district’s compliance with a state masking order violated their religious beliefs. The federal judge ruled in favor of the school district, finding that the district did not infringe upon the families’ religious beliefs and denied their requests for a restraining order.

• Successfully represented a school district that complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the IDEA, and Section 504 when the district declined to adopt and warned a family not to use an educational methodology (Spelling 2 Communicate) in a federal court appeal.

PERSONAL INTERESTS:

Ms. Gallagher is an active alumna of Mount St. Joseph Academy and serves as a member of the Mount’s Alumnae Board. She lives in Montgomery County with her husband, daughter and dog, Lulabelle, a treeing walker coonhound they rescued.