Leigh Dalton, Ph.D., Esq.
Dr. Dalton is a member of the firm’s School Law Group, concentrating her practice in all areas of public education, including special education, student/pupil services, compliance monitoring, and student discipline. In March 2021, the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education selected Dr. Dalton as a Peer Reviewer to evaluate and read discretionary grant program applications.
Leigh returned to Stock and Leader after serving as the Director of Legal Services for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and acting as the Chief of Special Education Monitoring and Accountability Section at the Maryland State Department of Education. Prior to joining Stock and Leader, Leigh served as the Director of the York County Truancy Prevention Initiative, a program of the United Way of York County, in partnership with the York County Bar Foundation. In that role, she provided training and education on truancy to audiences across the state.
Additionally, Dr. Dalton was influential in overseeing the implementation and expansion of the York County Youth Court Alliance in three York County school districts. In 2019, the program received the “Program of the Year Award” from the International Association of Truancy and Dropout Prevention. In 2012, she was recognized as “A Person Who Matters” in York County for her efforts in furthering the Youth Court, primarily funded by the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
Leigh holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2008, she received her Juris Doctorate after graduating cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she was named the University’s Public Interest Grant recipient in 2006 and Public Service Scholar in 2008. In 2015, Dr. Dalton earned her Ph.D. in Education Policy from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and was recognized as an “Exceptional Graduate.”