2020
“Common Sense Police Reform: Lessons Learned from Investigating & Prosecuting Excessive Force Cases.” Major County Sheriffs of America and many State Associations (Webinar, September 24, 2020)
“A conversation on school reopening and COVID-19 with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.” National Webinar (August 7, 2020)
“Qualified Immunity: A Short Primer.” Indiana Sheriffs’ Association Annual Conference Alternative (Webinar, August 5, 2020)
“Common Sense Police Reform: Lessons Learned from Investigating & Prosecuting Excessive Force Cases.” Indiana Sheriffs’ Association Annual Conference (French Lick, Indiana, August 6, 2020) Postponed due to COVID-19, given as a Webinar)
“Improving Law Enforcement: Framing the Issues for Sheriffs.” Moderator – U.S. Department of Justice and Major county Sheriffs’ Association – Sheriff Peter J. Koutoujian, President, Major County Sheriffs’ of America; Rod Rosenstein, Former Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice; Deborah Spence, Assistant Director, Training & Partner Engagement, COPS Office, U.S. Department of Justice; Sheriff Steve Luce (Ret.), Executive Director, Indiana Sheriffs’ Association; and, Sheriff David Mahoney, President, National Sheriffs’ Association (Webinar, 06/24/20)
“Combatting COVID-19 Fraud & Price-Gouging.” Moderator – U.S. Department of Justice and NSA – Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen; Associate Deputy Attorney General Bill Hughes; U.S. Attorney (NJ) Craig Carpenito; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Rabbitt (Criminal Division); Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ethan Davis (Civil Division); Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Burns (National Security Division); Calvin Shivers, Assistant Director, FBI Criminal Investigative Division (Webinar, April 29, 2020)
“The Stafford Act & Other COVID-19 Funding Resources.” Moderator/Chair – DHS-FEMA; DOJ-COPs Office; National Sheriffs’ Association – Joined by senior officials from the White House, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, and the Department of Justice, Indianapolis member Tom Wheeler organized and moderated a National Webinar for several thousand state and local government officials and first responders on how to access federal COVID-19 funding. This included a welcome and introduction by Jack Rauch, Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison at the White House; Brian Morgenstern, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury who discussed the CARES Act and other federal funding statutes; Alejandro Mayorkas, former Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security and Thomas Robinson, Public Assistance Field Instructor, FEMA discussing Stafford Act reimbursement; and, Phil Keith, Director, Community Oriented Policing and Mike Costigan, Acting Director Bureau of Justice Affairs, Department of Justice discussing first responder grants. A recording of the webinar, “The Stafford Act & Other COVID-19 Funding Resources” may be accessed at Stafford and Tom’s slide deck may be viewed at Stafford PDF. (Webinar, April 15, 2020)
“COVID-19 Law Enforcement & Jails/Prisons Guidances.” Chair – Indiana Sheriffs Association, Kentucky Sheriffs Association, Ohio Sheriffs’ Association, and Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association (Webinar, April 8, 2020)
“The Stafford Act & Other COVID-19 Funding Resources.” Chair – Indiana Sheriffs Association, Kentucky Sheriffs Association, Ohio Sheriffs’ Association, and Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association (Webinar, April 1, 2020)
“CDC Update on COVID-19 Law Enforcement & Jails/Prisons Guidances.” Moderator – Centers for Disease Control (Webinar, March 27, 2020)
“Answering Manufacturer’s Questions about COVID-19 by the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers.” Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (Webinar, March 25, 2020) Resource Page
“FACEBOOK & End to End Encryption – Law Enforcement Going Dark?” Chair – Panel Discussion on the impact of encryption issues on lawful access. Panel members include Deputy Associate Attorney General Raman and FBI Deputy Director. National Sheriff’s Association Winter Legislative & Technology Conference. Washington, D.C. (February 8, 2020) NSA Winter Conference
2019
“Update from DC: School Safety.” Indiana Sheriffs Association’s SaferWatch School Safety Workshop. Indianapolis, Indiana (December 11, 2019) Indiana Sheriffs
“Cybersecurity: Tales from the Front.” Louisville Techfest. Louisville, Kentucky. (August 22, 2019). TechFest is hosted by the Technology Association of Louisville Kentucky (TALK). TALK is Kentucky’s tech council and a member of the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA) Video
“Briefing on the Federal Commission on School Safety’s Final Report.” Keynote Address. Missouri Safe Schools and Colleges Conference. Springfield, Missouri. (July 8, 2019) Springfield Conference
“School Safety and Local Law Enforcement.” National Sheriff’s Association Annual Conference. Louisville, Kentucky (June 16, 2019) Louisville Conference
“A Report from the DOJ & ED on Regulatory Changes the Affect Schools.” The New York State Association of School Attorneys and the New York State School Boards Association’s 19th Annual School Attorney Law Conference. Bolton Landing, New York (June 1, 2019) NYSASA
“Changes to ED and DOJ and What They Mean for School Lawyers.” National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, School Law Seminar, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (March 30, 2019) COSA
“Five Key Takeaways from the Federal Commission on School Safety’s Final Report.” Luncheon Presentation, Indiana School Boards Association’s School Safety/Cybersecurity Seminar. Indianapolis, Indiana (January 11, 2019) Cybersecurity Seminar
“Hostile Actors – Foreign Cyber-Security Threats.” Keynote Panel Presentation, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Cyber Technology Conference & Policy Summit, Indianapolis, Indiana (January 8, 2019) Indiana Chamber
2018
“School Safety: Legal and Public Policy Issues.” Indianapolis Bar Association. Indianapolis, Indiana (November 28, 2018). Policy Issues
“The Latest on School Safety Strategies.” Ohio School Boards Association, Capital Conference, Columbus, Ohio (November 13, 2018) Strategies
“School Police Partnerships.” National Sheriffs Association, Board and State Executive Director’s Retreat, French Lick, Indiana (October 8, 2018) NSA Website
“Listening Session/Update on FCSS.” Ohio School Security and Safety Solutions Summit, Columbus, Ohio (September 12, 2018) School Summit
“Listening Session/Update on FCSS with Deputy Secretary Zais.” National School Boards Association Leadership Conference, Chicago, Illinois (August 17, 2018) Chicago Conference
“The Role of School Safety Officers in EOPs.” National Association of School Law Enforcement Officers 49th Annual Conference, Melville, Long Island, New York (July 30, 2018) NASLEO
“FCSS Update.” National Sheriffs Association, Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana (June 18, 2018) Louisiana Conference
2017
“Current trends in Policing.” The Ohio State University, Michael E. Moritz College of Law, Guest Lecturer, Columbus, Ohio (November 1, 2017) Moritz Lecture
“Civil Rights in the US: The World is Watching: A Wide Ranging Conversation with Thomas E. Wheeler, II – Former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, United States Department of Justice.” Foreign Policy Leadership Council, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio (October 26, 2017)
“Federal Civil Rights Enforcement in Public Schools: Policy and Enforcement Priorities of the Administration”, Opening General Session. National School Boards Association’s Council of School Council of School Attorney’s Annual School Law Conference, Chicago, Illinois (October 20, 2017) NSBA Events
“One year In: Changes in Civil Rights Enforcement Priorities.” Opening Session, New York School Boards Association Annual Meeting, Lake Placid, New York (October 11, 2017) NYSBA
“Latino-Jewish Leadership Council Convenes in Washington for Day of Advocacy – Tom Wheeler, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, and Ambassador Kevin K. Sullivan, interim U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), addressed the Council over dinner marking the start of the series of advocacy meetings.” Latino-Jewish Leadership Council. Washington D.C. (July 13, 2017) AJC
“National Hate Crimes Summit – Chairman.” Transcript of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Opening Remarks: “Good morning, everyone. … [I] want to thank Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Robert Moossy of our Civil Rights Division for putting together this important summit. I am grateful to all of you for being here, and for your help in addressing this problem.” (June 29, 2017)
https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-delivers-remarks-2017-hate-crimes-summit.
“Featured Session – A View from the New Administration: Thomas Wheeler, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, and Candice Jackson, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, will address the Departments’ key priorities as they relate to higher education.” National Association of College & University Attorneys, Chicago, Illinois (June 27, 2017) NACUA
“Advocacy on the Hill Day – The panelists at the event included Tom Wheeler, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Justice; Michael Lieberman, Anti-Defamation League and convener of the Hate Crimes Coalition Taskforce; Ron Mori, Japanese American Citizens League; Sushil Pandit, CEO of Hive Communication and co-founder of Roots in Kashmir; Seth Oldmixon, founder of Liberty South Asia; and Anita Wadhwani, India country director, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Asian and Pacific Security Affairs.” Hindu-American Foundation, Washington, D.C. (June 19, 2017) Advocacy Forum
“Assistant AG for Civil Rights Pledges to Make Hate Crimes a Priority – After lobbying, participants heard from Thomas Wheeler, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice, who promised to vigorously prosecute hate crimes.” Luncheon Speaker, Anti-Defamation League, Washington, D.C. (May 12, 2017) NYADL ADL Summit Transcript of speech
“A Candid Conversation with the NEW Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.” National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, School Law Seminar, Denver, Colorado (March 25, 2017) COSA Seminar
“CRCL Convenes ICCT Call with Jewish and Muslim Communities.” Department of Homeland Security, Washington, D.C. (March 2, 2017) DHS PDF
2015
“Ritz v. SBOE & Other Epic Battles in the 2015 Indiana General Assembly.” Indiana State University, Guest Lecturer (April 22, 2015)
2014
“Student Diversity Issues”. Green River Educational Cooperative’s Annual School Law Institute, Bowling Green, Kentucky (August 21, 2014)
“Transgender Issues in Schools”. Kentucky School Boards Association’s Annual School Law Seminar, Lexington, Kentucky (July 11, 2014)
2013
“Armed Teachers in Schools, a Legislative Overview.” National School Boards Association’s Council of School Attorneys School Law Conference, Nashville, Tennessee (October 10, 2013)
“Arming Teachers to Prevent Tragedies, Responding to Sandy Hook.” National Webinar (January 22, 2013)
2012
Moderator, Iowa Governor’s Bullying Prevention Summit, Des Moines, Iowa (November 27, 2012)
“Shooting in Martinsville, A School in Crisis: Tips & Tactics for Handling Parents, Police & Press,” Indiana School Safety Academy (April 24, 2012)
“Student Free Speech in the Age of Social Media, Texting and Sexting,” ABA Section of Litigation, Annual CLE Conference, Washington D.C. (April 19, 2012)
2011
“Introduction to the 1st Amendment.” Boone County Bar Association Annual CLE Program, Lebanon, Indiana (November 4, 2011)
“Tips and Strategies for Handling Crisis Media.” National School Boards Association’s Council of School Attorneys Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana (October 15, 2011)
“Legislative Update: Indiana’s Educational Reform.” Indiana State University, Guest Lecturer (April 13, 2011)
“Facebook Fatalities: Student, Social Networking, & the 1st Amendment.” National School Boards Association Annual Conference, San Francisco, California (April 10, 2011)
2010
“Student Cyberspeech, Facts & Figures,” Boone County Juvenile Justice Meeting Lebanon, Indiana (March 2010)
“Tips on Helping School Districts Move Through Tough Economic Times: A Town Meeting”, National School Boards Association Annual Conference Chicago, Illinois (April 9, 2010)
“Issues with Electronic Communication.” Indiana State University, Guest Lecturer (April 14, 2010)
“Dangers of Cyberspeech: Cyber-Bullying, Cyber-Communication, and Sexting.” Indiana School Safety Academy, Indianapolis, Indiana (April 19, 2010)
“Cyberlaw Seminar: RU on FACEBOOK?” Ohio School Boards Association Conference, Cleveland, Ohio (May 11, 2010)
“Cyberlaw Seminar: RU on FACEBOOK?” Ohio School Boards Association Conference, Columbus, Ohio (May 19, 2010)
“Teacher Free Speech in the Internet Age.” Indiana Public Charter Schools Association, Indianapolis, Indiana (June 18, 2010)
“The 1st Amendment in Schools.” Liberty Mutual Insurance, Indianapolis, Indiana (August 24, 2010)
“Dangers of Cyberspeech: Cyber-Bullying, Cyber-Communication, and Sexting.” Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy, Indianapolis, Indiana (October 26, 2010)
“The 1st Amendment in the Classroom.” Indiana State University, Guest Lecturer (November 18, 2010)
“Problems with Predators: The Dark Side of Social Networking.” Indiana School Boards Association’s School Law Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 10, 2010)
2009
“When Teachers Go Wild on the Web: Legal Risks for Schools”, National School Boards Association’s School Law Conference, Seattle, Washington (October 16, 2009)
“Responding to Sexting and Other Inappropriate Student Speech”, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Nationwide Webinar (October 6, 2009)
“Why is it so Hard to Fire Bad Teachers?” Indiana Department of Education, Indianapolis, Indiana (July 16, 2009)
“Hold Your Tongue, Mates: Cyber-Bullying and the Boundaries of Student Free Speech”, 2009 PGIT® Membership Conference, “Navigation through Education”, Orlando, Florida (May 7, 2009)
“Tips and Tactics for Responding to Cyber-Bullying and Other Problem Electronic Communications”, National School Boards Association Annual Conference, San Diego, California (April 5, 2009)
2008
“Cell Phones in Schools” – Speaker – Indiana School Boards Association’s School Law Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 12, 2008)
“1st Amendment Rights of Students” – Speaker – American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana Legal Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 5, 2008)
“School Law Lab, A primer in school law for board members”, National School Boards Association Annual Conference, Orlando, Florida (March 31, 2008)
2007
“Lessons from the Lord of the Flies: Techniques for Handling Cyberbullying”, Indiana School Boards Association’s School Law Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 14, 2007)
“Creative Methods of Limiting Liability Under the Indiana Tort Claims Act”, Speaker – Municipal Law XXIV, Indiana Municipal Lawyers Association/Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, Indianapolis, Indiana (June 22, 2007)
“Ten Things Your Attorney Wants to Tell You But Can’t” – National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, San Francisco, California (April 16, 2007)
“The Nuts and Bolts of Handling Insured Litigation” – National School Boards Association’s Council of School Attorney’s Conference, San Francisco, California (April 14, 2007)
“Personnel Issues for School Superintendents” Guest Lecturer, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana (March 8, 2007)
2006
“Litigating Teacher 1st Amendment Cases”, Georgia School Boards Association, Atlanta, Georgia (November 30, 2006)
“War Protesters, Dope Smokers & OJ Simpson: The 1st Amendment in the Classroom”, National School Boards Association’s Council of School Attorney’s Annual School Law Conference, Kansas City, Missouri (October 3, 2006)
“Emerging Legal Issues for Indiana School Boards” – Indiana School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana (September 26, 2006)
“Who Controls the Classroom? Teacher Free Speech Rights”, Indiana School Boards Association’s School Law Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana (June 15, 2006)
“School Law Potpourri for Affiliated School Boards”, National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois (April 10, 2006)
“Emerging Legal Issues for School Boards”, National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois (April 10, 2006)
“Appellate and Trial Court Advocacy for the School Attorney”, Kentucky School Boards Association, Louisville, Kentucky (January 27, 2006)
2005
“Police in the Schools”, Indiana School Boards Association’s School Law Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana (June 15, 2005)
“School Law Potpourri for Affiliated School Boards”, National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, San Diego, California (April 17, 2005)
“School Resource Officers”, National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, San Diego, California (April 16, 2005)
“Schools and the Police: A Sometimes Uneasy Alliance”, National School Boards Association’s Council of School Attorney’s School Annual Conference, San Diego, California (April 14, 2005)
“Camels & Tents: The Risks of Accepting Government Money”, National Catholic Education Association School Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (March 31, 2005)
2004
“Teacher 4th Amendment Rights”, Indiana School Boards Association’s Annual School Law Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 10, 2004)
“Drug Testing and Schools”, Indiana Civil Liberties Union, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 10, 2004)
“Appellate and Trial Court Advocacy for the School Attorney”, National School Boards Association’s Council of School Attorney’s Annual School Law Conference, Savannah, Georgia (October 8, 2004)
“School Law Potpourri for Affiliated School Boards”, National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, Orlando, Florida (April 2, 2004)
2003
“Responding to Student Health Emergencies at School”, Indiana School Boards Association’s Annual School Law Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 12, 2003)
“From ‘In God we Trust’ to the Ten Commandments: The Secularization of Religious Symbols in America”, Debate with ICLU Executive Director Ken Falk at the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana (November 21, 2003)
“Introduction to School Insurance Policies”, National School Boards Association’s Council of School Attorney’s Annual School Law Conference, Phoenix, Arizona (October 10, 2003)
“Can You Shout Food Fight in a Crowded Cafeteria?”, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Education Law Conference, Williamsburg, Virginia (April 25, 2003)(EA# 032481)
“Student Free Speech Issues”, National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, San Francisco, California (April 7, 2003)
“School Law Potpourri for Affiliated School Boards”, National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, San Francisco, California (April 7, 2003)
2002
“Academic Freedom: Do Teachers Have the Right to Communicate Their Personal Views in the Classroom on Such Topics as Collective Bargaining, Religion, and Morality?”, Indiana School Boards Association’s Annual School Law Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 13, 2002)
“There Goes the Settlement: Attorney’s Fees after Buckhannon”, LRP Publications 23rd National Institute on Legal Issues of Educating Individuals with Disabilities, Tampa, Florida(May 7-8, 2002)
“Teacher Sexual Misconduct: Legal Liability Issues”, Guest Lecturer, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana (April 19, 2002)
“Talk Isn’t Cheap: Debating the Price of Free Speech in Public Schools”, Debate with ACLU Executive Director Steve Shapiro on Student 1st and 4th Amendment Rights, National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana (April 5, 2002)
“Good News Huh: What about the Gay clubs?” National School Boards Association’s Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana (April 6, 2002)
2001
National Public Radio: Justice Talking. Nationally broadcast debate with American University Constitutional Law Professor Jamine Raskin on student 1st and 4th Amendment Rights in schools, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“Handling Teacher/Student Sexual Activities”, Indiana School Boards Association’s Annual School Law Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 7, 2001)
“Appealing the IDEA Administrative Decision”, Indiana School Boards Association’s Special Education Seminar Indianapolis, Indiana (November 15, 2001)
“What Makes Indiana Special: The 1851 Indiana Constitution”, Indiana Historical Society 81st Annual Indiana History Conference, Indianapolis, Indiana (November 3, 2001)
“Indiana Constitutional Claims”, Municipal Law XVIII, Indiana Municipal Lawyers Association/Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, Indianapolis, Indiana (June 12, 2001)
“Strippers, Lockers and Drugs: An Update on Student Searches”, Guest Lecturer, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana (April 20, 2001)
“Pupil Discipline: Questions and Consequences”, National School Boards Association Annual Conference, San Diego, California (March 25, 2001)
“Hot Topics in Indiana School Law”, Lorman Education Services, Indianapolis, Indiana (March 1, 2001)
2000
“Drug Testing and Other Searches Under the Indiana Constitution”, Indiana School Boards Association, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 7, 2000)
“Message in a Bottle: Judicial Activism Under the Indiana Constitution”, Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, Indiana (November 16, 2000)
“Pupil Disciplinary Codes: Bedrock or Quicksand?” Indiana School Boards Association, Indianapolis, Indiana (June 9, 2000)
“Appealing the Administrative IDEA Decision – An Unappealing Proposition”, LRP Publications Special Education Attorneys National Conference, Phoenix, Arizona (February 4, 2000)
1999
“Suing & Defending City Hall: An Updated Look at §1983 Litigation.” Indiana Civil Liberties Union, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 17, 1999)
“Drug Testing: Past, Present & Future”, National School Boards Association, Council of School Attorney’s Annual School Law Conference, Charleston, South Carolina (October 15, 1999)
“School Law in Indiana” National Business Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana (May 26, 1999)
“Suing the Sovereign: New Theories, New Defenses”, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Foundation, Indianapolis, Indiana (April 27, 1999)
“Evaluating a Case for Settlement Purposes”, Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana’s Rookie Law Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana (March 26, 1999)
1998
“Equal Access Act: Who, When and Where – Update on the Case Law”, Indiana School Boards Association, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 11, 1998)
“Special Education Law in Indiana: Rights and Responsibilities” Professional Development Network, Indianapolis, Indiana (April 17, 1998)
“School Law in Indiana: Harassment in the Schools”, Professional Development Network, Indianapolis, Indiana (February 6, 1998)
1996
“Current Issues Under Title IX”, Indiana Department of Education, Indianapolis, Indiana (March 22, 1996)
“School Law: Disciplining the Flower Children’s Children”, Medical Educational Services, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana (September 25, 1996)
“Religious Expression of Teachers: How Far Can it Go?” Indiana School Boards Association, Indianapolis, Indiana (December 13, 1996)
1995
“Selected Issues in School Law: Title IX and Special Education”, Indiana Continuing Legal Education Foundation, Indianapolis, Indiana (July 11, 1995)