Overview

Desiree Serrano is a Partner in Lozano Smith's Los Angeles office. Her practice focuses on the student, labor & employment and government relations aspects of education law. Ms. Serrano has extensive experience as general legal counsel for school districts. She presents trainings on a number of topics to school employees such as sexual harassment, discipline, cyberbullying, student searches, transgender student rights, contract drafting, Brown Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

She provides legal advice to administrators on personnel matters such as discipline, layoffs, discrimination complaints, disability accommodations, and leaves, in addition to preparing responses to DFEH and EEOC complaints and negotiating settlement agreements. She also has substantial experience with student issues including records, discipline, searches and constitutional issues.

Additional Experience

While in Law School, Ms. Serrano worked as a Law Clerk for San Diego Unified School District, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles. She was also a Mediation Intern for the National Conflict Resolution Center and a Land Use Intern for the City of San Diego.

Professional Affiliations

Ms. Serrano is a member of the California Bar and involved with the California Council of School Attorneys.

Education

Ms. Serrano received her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Law and Society, and minored in Education and Applied Psychology, from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Ms. Serrano has received certification through ATIXA as a participant in Level 1 and Level 3 ATIXA Civil Rights Investigator Trainings.

Federal Trade Commission Issues Rule Limiting Non-Compete Clauses

By: Desiree Serrano, Betzy Bras-Gonzalez- 08/02/2024

U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies the Standard for "True Threats"

By: Desiree Serrano- 08/29/2023

Ninth Circuit Talks Graduation and First Amendment Rights

By: Desiree Serrano, Nisha Dale- 01/18/2023

New Law Mandates Schools to Annually Inform Parents of Safe Storage of Firearms and Expands Reporting of Middle School and High School Threats to Law Enforcement

By: Desiree Serrano, Joshua Whiteside- 08/31/2022

New Legislation Will Impact Student Health

By: Desiree Serrano- 11/01/2021

Return to School in the COVID-19 Era - Student Issues (Part 1)

By: Desiree Serrano- 07/31/2020

Host Sloan Simmons talks with Lozano Smith attorneys Aimee Perry and Desiree Serrano about the latest developments on COVID-19 and students, with a focus on Senate Bill 98 and the most recent state agency directives and guidance heading into the 2020-2021 school year.

A School District's Ability to Discipline Students for Off-Campus Conduct

By: Desiree Serrano, Eleanor Welke- 10/26/2018

With texting and social media, it seems as though the line between school and "not school" are blurred. School districts are often faced with determining whether they can discipline a student for their conduct while not at school. In this episode, we discuss a school district's ability to discipline a student for off-campus conduct and go over court cases that analyze this issue.