Jessika Kleen

As a Partner at Machado Law Group, Jessika believes that clients deserve a lawyer who thoroughly explains things, gives honest and candid assessments, and is always available to provide timely advice.

As a child growing up in the foster care system, Jessika knows the power public education has to change lives. She is a passionate advocate for public schools and understands the challenges of meeting the individual needs of students and staff, while not losing sight of the District’s obligations to the whole community.

An internationally recognized speaker on public education, Jessika provides deeply informed legal counseling in all areas of public education law. She is widely respected for her professional development trainings, departmental audits, and her focus on empowering her clients with the knowledge and tools they need to get the job done well.

Jessika provides representation to school districts across all subject areas throughout the state of New Jersey. Jessika engages in the interpretation of statutory, regulatory, and constitutional matters as they apply to school districts, employees, and students.  She drafts school board policies and negotiates and assists in the enforcement of collective bargaining agreements. She consults on all aspects of personnel and labor relations, including hiring, discipline, and discharge of employees; grievances and arbitration; contracting, bidding, and procurement; and special education and student discipline matters.

Jessika has successfully represented clients in mediations, administrative hearings, and in state and federal court including the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in matters relating to the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, student disciplinary actions, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and Department of Education complaints, and a wide variety of personnel-related matters.

Jessika conducts seminars and in-service workshops for boards of education, school administration, and staff, and at school law forums. Past presentations include the Legal One four-part Special Education Law Series, which she developed for the organization, the Basics of Special Education for Board Members, Student Records, and Confidentiality, Reducing the Costs of Special Education Litigation, Procedural Safeguards, Hot Topics in Special Education, Section 504: A Road Map to Compliance, I&RS: Effective Usage and Best Practices, Special Education for Administrators, Nursing Services In The School Setting, Legal and Effective IEPs, and HIB & Discipline Rights, Responsibilities & Best Practices.

Jessika also regularly authors feature articles for Special Education Connection and was selected as a Super Lawyers – 2019 New Jersey Rising Star. Jessika was also selected as an Emerging Scholar for the Learner Network and has presented for the organization in Athens, Greece and in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Jessika served as counsel in the Special Education Clinic while attending law school at Rutgers School of Law-Newark. She is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association, the American Bar Association and is admitted to practice in New Jersey and in the federal court, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

She also volunteers her time, representing service members through the Military Legal Assistance Program and Habitat for Humanity. She also regularly volunteers her time in public schools, judging moot court competitions, participating in Read Across America, organizing and contributing to school supply drives, and collecting holiday gifts for economically disadvantaged children.

Education
University of Phoenix, Bachelor of Arts
Rutgers University School of Law, J.D.

Admissions
New Jersey