Q. Shanté Martin has spent nearly 20 years committed to representing and advising educational institutions across the secondary to post-secondary spectrum on a wide-range of legal issues. She has expertise in areas of employment, Title VII, the First Amendment, board governance, Title IX, open meetings, public records, policy drafting and editing, grievance hearings, student disciplinary hearings, investigations, and professional development training for education leaders. Specifically, she has experience representing charter schools, serving as General Counsel to the North Carolina Community College System and State Board of Community Colleges, and representing and litigating on behalf of the University of North Carolina System and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in federal and state court.
In furtherance of her commitment to positively impacting the educational sphere, Shanté also designed the Higher Education Law and Policy course for the Higher Education Executive Leadership doctoral program at Wingate University. She has trained doctoral candidates since the program’s inception nine years ago, many of whom are presently senior administrators and college presidents.
Shanté enjoys being an active member of Kingdom Christian Church in Charlotte, doing activities with her family like horseback riding, canoeing, and ziplining through forests and over lakes, and attending her daughter’s gymnastic meets.
Most Recent Posts
Cranfill Sumner Education Practice Group Attorneys Participate in NCBA Education Law Section CLE
Two Cranfill Sumner LLP attorneys participated in the recent 2023 Education Law Section Annual CLE Program from the North Carolina Bar Association. The event provided an update on education law including discussions about Title IX and athletics, best practices for employers, and a case law update.… Read More
Q. Shanté Martin Presents to NC Community College Conference
Q. Shanté Martin, Of Counsel with Cranfill Sumner LLP, served as a panelist at the Oct. 11 Annual North Carolina Community College System Office Conference. The event was held at the Raleigh Convention Center.… Read More
Cranfill Sumner Attorneys and Staff Volunteer for Bar Candidate Interviews
Attorneys and staff members of Cranfill Sumner LLP volunteered to perform bar candidate interviews for the NC Board of Law Examiners prior to the July 2022 bar exam.… Read More
Cranfill Sumner Hosts Employment Law Webinar
On April 21, Cranfill Sumner LLP hosted the Employment Law Roundtable webinar featuring presentations from Janelle Lyons, Q. Shanté Martin, and Marshall Wall.… Read More
Q. Shanté Martin Appointed to NCBA Education Law Section Council
Q. Shanté Martin has been appointed to serve on the Education Law Section Council for the North Carolina Bar Association. Her term will continue through 2025.… Read More
Cranfill Sumner Attorneys and Paralegals Volunteer for Mock Trial Competition
Attorneys and paralegals from the Charlotte and Wilmington offices of Cranfill Sumner LLP volunteered for regional Mock Trial competitions in their local areas on Feb. 5. They served as judges and jurors during the mock proceedings, which allowed high school students to participate in mock trial competitions and learn about the judicial process. … Read More
The Danger of Open Meetings Violations
Compliance with the Open Meetings Law is an ongoing, ever-present obligation for all North Carolina public boards. The advent of Governor… Read More
Q. Shanté Martin Featured in CCLink
Q. Shanté Martin was featured in the December 2021 Issue of CCLink, a publication of the North Carolina Association of Community College Trustees.… Read More
North Carolina General Assembly Mandates Access to In-Person Learning
Since the beginning of 2021, North Carolina educational institutions have been subject to a variety of studies, orders, and directives… Read More
Cranfill Sumner LLP Attorneys Receive AV Rating from Martindale-Hubbell
Cranfill Sumner LLP (CSH Law) today announced that Steven Bader, Paul Gessner, Charles Hicks, Q. Shanté Martin and Nick Valaoras have received AV® Ratings from Martindale-Hubbell.… Read More
Governor Cooper and State Leaders Strongly Advocate for In-Person Instruction
While many North Carolina public schools had resumed some level of in-person instruction by the Fall of 2020, by the… Read More
Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Changes COVID-19 Advice for Schools
Throughout this COVID-19 era, school boards and other educational entities responsible for operating schools throughout the country have had to… Read More
President Biden’s Executive Order on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation: Implications for Schools
For educational institutions, one of President Joe Biden’s inaugural Executive Orders ushers in yet another significant, multi-faceted, complicated policy change… Read More
To Vote or Not to Vote . . . In Open Session
After years of representing and advising various public boards subject to the Open Meetings Law (Article 33C of Chapter 143… Read More
Q. Shanté Martin Published in Association Newsletter
“To Vote or Not to Vote . . . In Open Session,” an article by Q. Shanté Martin, is featured in the latest North Carolina Association of Community College Trustees newsletter.… Read More
Resuming “In-Person” Board Meetings: Open Meetings Considerations
For approximately the last six months, public boards subject to the Open Meetings Law (“public boards”) have been meeting solely… Read More
New Title IX Requirements: Turning Campus Hearings into Pseudo-Courtrooms
The new Title IX regulations, adopted in the midst of COVID-19’s fierce imposition on society as a whole, and education… Read More
Is Your Educational Institution Ready for the New Title IX Requirements?
Like a shockwave, the onset of COVID-19 has had a monumental, unprecedented, life-altering impact on educational institutions throughout the United… Read More
Remote Public Meetings: COVID-19’s Impact on Public Meetings
*This provides updated information about remote public meetings. For more information, visit our previous blog post about public meeting compliance. As… Read More
Shanté Martin Joins Cranfill Sumner Charlotte Office
Cranfill Sumner LLP (Cranfill Sumner) today announced that Q. Shanté Martin has joined the firm’s Charlotte office as an Of Counsel Attorney. Martin will focus her practice in the area of Education Law.… Read More