• Skip to content

Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP

Kathleen Anderson

Partner

Fresno
kmcdonald@f3law.com
D 559.860.4707
Kathleen Anderson

What can I solve for you?

As a former special education teacher, I bring a unique perspective to my practice when helping school districts stay compliant with the many statutes and rules governing the education of students with disabilities. I provide compliance counseling on all kinds of issues affecting students with disabilities, and I offer training and workshops to help prevent problems and disputes from arising so that my clients can focus on educating the students in their care.

What's it like to work with me?

I believe we’re all in this together. Public education is crucial to our society, and I chose to work in this arena because I want to support and strengthen school districts to enable them to shine when serving their kids. I draw on my sense of humor to help calm staff who feel stressed by the many demands they address. When matters fall into a gray area with no clear-cut answers, I assist districts in identifying options and weighing the pros and cons of each option so clients can choose the best approach for them.

Top Issues in My Practice

  • #specialeducation
  • #section504
  • #adaaa
  • #investigations

“In the words of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, ‘Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time,’ and I enjoy assisting clients in bringing about that change.”

Overview

Helping Central Valley school districts deliver services to students with disabilities, Kathleen “Kathy” Anderson counsels clients on the requirements imposed by federal and state statutes such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) and related California law and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) and related state law. Kathy addresses matters on their front ends by advising district staff on developing legally-compliant documents such as Section 504 Plans, IEPs and related documents, and on their back ends by advising on how to respond to parent, advocate, and parent counsel demands, compliance complaints and requests for due process.

Kathy understands that the law does not place unlimited demands on her clients, and that her clients have responsibility for managing budgets and the taxpayer funds with which they have been entrusted. She works hard to prevent school districts from being taken advantage of and strives to enable them to make the most of their finite resources so that the districts can facilitate learning for all students.

Fostering teamwork, Kathy enjoys getting to know and working with a wide range of district employees, including administrators, related service providers and teachers. These connections enable her to better deliver services and resolve problems in an efficient manner. She also provides extensive employee training to help clients mitigate risks and perform their jobs more effectively.

As the parent of a special needs child and a former teacher who spent four years working with high school kids with severe disabilities, Kathy draws on valuable first-hand experience to address challenges facing special education kids and their families, as well as the staff serving them. Her educational background includes a master’s degree in special education and a teaching credential as an education specialist.

Prior to joining F3, Kathy was of counsel at an environmental and land use law firm, where she assisted clients in solving complex compliance issues. She frequently puts her outstanding communication skills to good use by authoring articles, conducting workshops, and lecturing on a variety of special education topics—and engages her audiences by weaving in anecdotes from her personal classroom experiences.

Kathy channels passion, knowledge, dedication and empathy into her practice, to the benefit of both students and school districts. She abides by the words of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who said, “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” Kathy finds it highly rewarding to support clients in bringing about that positive transformation.

Involvement

Professional Affiliations

  • Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) Advisory Committee Member
  • American Bar Association

Community Affiliations

  • Fresno Police Department Chaplain

After School

In addition to spending time with our grown children, my husband and I like to travel. We particularly enjoy adventurous activities such as ziplining. In addition, community service is a vital part of my life. Among other things, I’ve mentored incarcerated youth, assisted in the formation of a family day care home association, formed guardianships for mentally ill youth, worked a battered women’s hotline, and many charitable activities through my church. Most recently, I became a Fresno Police Department Chaplain.

Education

  • University of California, Los Angeles (J.D.)
  • Brandman University (M.A., Special Education)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., English, magna cum laude)

Admissions

Bar Admissions
  • California
Court Admissions
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District, California
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District, California

Related Services

  • Special Education
  • Student Rights & Discipline

Related Clients

  • Charter Schools
  • Public Education K-12

Publications

  • Authored “Battered Wives, Religion & Law: An Interdisciplinary Approach”, published in the Yale Journal of Law & Feminism

Kathleen's Insights & News

  1. Viewpoints
    Ninth Circuit Clarifies When School Officials’ Social Media Use May Constitute State Action And Violate The First Amendment
    May 16, 2025
    less than a minute
  2. Viewpoints
    Teacher Apprenticeship Programs, Recently Defunded, Remain a Viable Option for Filling Vacancies
    May 16, 2025
    less than a minute
  3. Viewpoints
    Funding for Wi-Fi hotspots at risk?
    May 09, 2025
    less than a minute
More Insights & News
Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP
Get the latest F3 Insights and Invitations
Sign-up Now
Contact Us
  • © 2025 Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
Site by
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
__cf_bm30 minutesThe cookie contains information related to the calculation of Cloudflare’s proprietary bot score and, when Anomaly Detection is enabled on Bot Management, a session identifier
algoliasearch-client-js1 yearNecessary in order to optimize the web site's search-bar function . The cookie ensures accurate and fast search results.
AWSELB1 yearUsed to distribute traffic to the website on several servers in order to optimise response times.
AWSELBCORS1 yearRegisters which server-cluster is serving the visitor. This is used in context with load balancing, in order to optimize user experience.
CONSENT1 yearUsed to detect if the visitor has accepted the marketing category in the cookie banner. This cookie is necessary for GDPR-compliance of the website.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearUsed to detect if the visitor has accepted the marketing category in the cookie banner. This cookie is necessary for GDPR-compliance of the website.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
JSESSIONID1 yearPreserves users states across page requests.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga1 yearRegisters a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the web site.
_ga_#1 yearUsed by Google Analytics to collect data on the number of times a user has visited the web site as well as dates for the first and most recent visit.
_gat1 yearUsed by Google Analytics to throttle request rate.
_gid1 yearRegisters a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the web site.
collect1 yearUsed to send data to Google Analytics about the visitor's device and behavior. Tracks the visitor across devices and marketing channels.
NRBA_SESSION1 yearCollects data on the user’s navigation and behavior on the website. This is used to compile statistical reports and heatmaps for the website owner.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY1 yearUsed to track user’s interaction with embedded content.
LogsDatabaseV2:V#||LogsRequestsStore1 yearUnclassified
nextId1 yearUsed to track user’s interaction with embedded content.
remote_sid1 yearNecessary for the implementation and functionality of YouTube video-content on the website.
requests1 yearUsed to track user’s interaction with embedded content.
TESTCOOKIESENABLED1 yearUsed to track user’s interaction with embedded content.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE1 yearUnclassified
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA1 yearUnclassified
YSC1 yearUnclassified
yt-remote-cast-available1 yearStores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video
yt-remote-cast-installed1 yearStores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video
yt-remote-connected-devices1 yearStores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video
yt-remote-device-id1 yearStores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video
yt-remote-fast-check-period1 yearStores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video
yt-remote-session-app1 yearStores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video
yt-remote-session-name1 yearStores the user's video player preferences using embedded YouTube video
YtIdbMeta#databases1 yearUsed to track user’s interaction with embedded content.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
BNI_new_persistence1 yearUnclassified
SAVE & ACCEPT
  • Professionals
  • Services
    • Business
    • Communications & Media Relations
    • Education Technology
    • Employment Law
    • Facilities & Construction
    • Governance & Leadership
    • Government Affairs & Public Policy
    • School and College Athletics
    • Investigations
    • Labor Relations & Negotiations
    • Litigation
    • Next Level Client Services
    • Real Estate & Property
    • Special Education
    • Student Rights & Discipline
    • Title IX
    • Virtual Learning
  • Our Clients
    • Charter Schools
    • Community Colleges
    • Higher Education
    • Independent & Private Schools
    • Public Agencies
    • Public Education K-12
    • Religious & Parochial Schools
  • Insights & News
    • Announcements
    • Client Alert
    • News
    • NewsFlash®
    • Symposium Materials
    • Tips & Tools
    • Viewpoints
  • Events
    • Special Education Symposium
    • Student Services Legal Symposium
  • Our Firm
    • Leadership
    • Locations
  • Careers
    • Our People
    • Job Opportunities
  • Our Culture
  • Civics
  • Contact Us