Alison Morris

Adjunct Professor Alison Morris joined the Haub Law faculty in 2021. She also practiced as a Senior Attorney at the Cuddy Law Firm, where she focused on special education advocacy and litigation. She represented families and children with special education needs at Committee on Special Education and 504 Plan meetings, and represented families in due process hearings when families challenged the decisions made by school districts, many from underserved populations. Professor Morris also assisted families in navigating the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), including helping families with OPWDD applications and appeals.

She is also a frequent lecturer on topics of interest to both professionals and families on special education law, and has provided CLEs for Pace, the New York State Bar Association, and Lawline. Professor Morris has written articles for numerous publications, including the New York State Bar Association’s Elder Law and Special Needs Law Journal, and the Westchester County Bar Journal. She is the Chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Disability Rights and a Co-Chair of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association’s Education Committee.

Professor Morris graduated summa cum laude from Haub Law in 2014, and magna cum laude from Wheaton College in 2011. While at Haub Law, she worked on cases for children with special needs in the Disability Rights Clinic, interned for the Department of Justice in the Disability Rights Section, and externed for the Honorable Kenneth M. Karas in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York as part of the Federal Judicial Honors Program. She was also an editor of the Pace International Law Review, and was awarded the Extraordinary Pro Bono Justice Award.

• BA, Wheaton College
• JD, Elisabeth Haub School of Law

• Law and Education LAW 725

• New York City’s Special Education Impartial Hearing Crisis: Yes, We Should Address It, but Not at Further Costs to Student’s Rights, NYSBA Elder Law and Special Needs Law Journal, Vol. 30, No. 3, Fall 2020
• The Negative, and Often Inconsequential, Impact Remote Learning Has Had on Students With Disabilities During COVID, Westchester Bar Journal, Vol. 45, No. 1, Fall 2020
• The Big, Wonderful World of Special Education and Education Law: Career Paths and Possibilities, NYSBA WILS Connect, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2021
• The Underutilized Use of the Fee Shifting Provision in Special Education Matters to Represent Underserved Communities, New York State Bar Association Pro Bono News, Fall Edition 2021
• Is New York Taking a Permissive Approach Towards Students with Special Needs During and Post COVID-19, NSYBA Elder Law and Special Needs Law Journal, Vol. 31, No 3, Fall 2021
• Students with IEPs Should Be Allowed to Request an Out of District Placement, Just as Typical Students Can Go Out of District, Westchester Bar Journal, Vol. 46, No. 1
• Child Support Beyond the Age of 21— Breaking Down New York’s New Law Extending Child Support Obligations to Age 26 for Individuals with Disabilities, NYSBA Family Law Review, Vol. 54, No. 1, 2022
• Forthcoming Chapter: Practical Steps to Developing an IEP (Individualized Education Program), New York State Bar Association’s Disability Law and Practice Series, Book One

• George O. Becker Memorial Scholarship
• PILSO Summer Fellowship
• Charles H. Revson LSPIN Summer Fellowship

• Extraordinary Pro Bono Justice Award
• Nominated as the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York candidate for the New York State Bar Association Haywood Burns Memorial Award

Special Education Advocacy, Litigation, Families and Children with Special Needs