Our Team

Bryant L. Horsley is a career school and education law attorney, bringing over 15 years of legal experience, with most of those years representing New Jersey school districts, as well as Legal Counsel for the New Jersey Department of Education. Bryant served over 3.5 years as Deputy Attorney General in the Education Section of the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. As Deputy Attorney General, Bryant successfully represented the Commissioner of Education in a multitude of appellate matters, as well as the New Jersey Department of Education and its various divisions, which include finance, licensure and credentials, Board of Examiners, Student residency and homeless offices, Transportation, OFAC, Special Education, Charter schools, and Early childhood education. He has conducted trials in the Office of Administrative Law, as well as litigating countless cases in the Federal and State trial and appellate courts. Many of the cases litigated by Bryant have served to help shape New Jersey’s Public Education law, especially in matters of student residency, homelessness, finance, fiscal accountability and compliance, special ed., licensure and credentials, tenure and employee discipline, and transportation. 

Bryant has also advised and counselled school districts in all aspects of school and education law, including: budget development and management, declining State aid and revenue, litigation, civil rights, torts, OPRA, OPMA, student discipline, student rights, data, and privacy, tenure, licensure and credentials, employee discipline, human resources and benefits, labor and employment, union contracts and grievances, procurement and purchasing, real estate transactions, athletic field improvements, reorganization, curriculum and instruction, First Amendment, constitutional law, athletics, policy, regulations, transgender issues, undocumented students, workers’ compensation, and compliance. Currently, as counsel for Souder Shabazz & Woolridge Law Group, Bryant continues to assist New Jersey boards of education in these types of matters. 

Bryant served for over 3.5 years as the first General Counsel for the State-operated Camden City School District, and more recently he served as the General Counsel for Jersey City Public Schools, the second 

largest school district in New Jersey with a budget more than $730 million. As General Counsel, Bryant’s solutions-oriented approach enabled the boards and administrations to successfully remediate many of their legal vulnerabilities, improve academic outcomes, successfully navigate union, tenure, and RIF issues, close multiple failing schools, and develop policies and procedures that improved employee relations, health, and safety. More recently as the Jersey City Public Schools General Counsel, Bryant successfully assisted the Board and Administration in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, including dealing with increased expenses and declining revenue, employee absenteeism, compliance with executive orders and emergency legislation affecting employment and employees, and employee relations and safety practices for its 6,500+ employees and 30,000+ students. 

Bryant often delivers trainings and seminars to educators and boards of education at NJSBA and other school law conferences in various aspects of school and education law. His list of speaking engagements and presentations include the following: 

§ “Advanced Reduction in Force (Considerations)”; Presentation of guide to performing a RIF at the NJSBA School Law Forum
§ “Tenure Implementation Issues”; Presentation of school administrators’ guide to removing tenured employees at the NJSBA School Law Forum
§ Panelist in 2013 “Quality in Education Summit” re: education lawyers’ perspective on the current and future state of public education in New Jersey [See www.youtube.com/watch?v=VchVxdEiR60]
§ College guest lecturer for education, employment, and First Amendment issues
§ Presented on FERPA, students records, and social media policies at NJSBA Annual Conference for board members
§ Drafted presentation re: OPMA and social media issues for NJSBA School Law Forum 

Bryant earned his law degree from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, as well as a Bachelor of Civil Law. In addition to his two law degrees, Bryant earned a Master of Education with a concentration in Science Education from the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education. Bryant’s academic background in education affords Bryant a unique understanding of the intersection of legal, academic, and student achievement matters.