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Elliott Hood is a member in Caplan and Earnest’s School Law and Litigation groups. He focuses his practice on representing school districts across Colorado in complex civil litigation. He has significant experience handling federal and state civil claims involving special education, civil rights, disability and accommodation, charter schools, torts, student discipline, employment, and constitutional claims. Elliott is an experienced appellate attorney and has appeared on behalf of clients in civil and administrative appeals before the Colorado Court of Appeals, the Colorado Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and Colorado State Board of Education. Elliott has also represented public hospitals in complex civil litigation in state and federal courts in matters involving personal injury and civil rights.

Elliott is an elected member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents, where he serves as Regent At-Large representing the State of Colorado on the board. Elliott was elected to this position in November 2024 and is currently serving a six-year term. Elliott is an alumnus of the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he received his undergraduate degree.

Before joining Caplan and Earnest, Elliott was an attorney with a large Denver-based litigation firm, where he handled a variety of complex civil matters and appeared before state and federal courts across the country. Before that, he clerked for Judge Robert E. Bacharach on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Court and Judge A. Bruce Jones on the Colorado District Court.

Elliott received his law degree from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of law, where he graduated with high honors and received a public service distinction.

Elliott began his professional career as a fifth-grade teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada. During his second year of teaching, Elliott served as fifth-grade co-chair and received an excellence award for outstanding teaching and service to his school. After teaching, Elliott become a development director for a large education nonprofit in Chicago, where he oversaw and grew a multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign.

Elliott is also very active in his community. Before being elected as CU Regent, he served on and helped lead several public and nonprofit boards, including the Boulder Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the I Have A Dream Foundation of Boulder County, the Amicus Committee of the National School Boards Association, the Colorado Disability Funding Committee, and the CBA-CLE.

Since 2024, Elliott has been named to the Super Lawyers® list in the field of Schools & Education, and he was previously named to the Super Lawyers Rising Stars® list.

Education

• Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, J.D.
  Magna Cum Laude
  Public Service Distinction
  Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy, Articles Editor
• University of Colorado Boulder, B.A.
  With Honors Distinction

Notable Representation, Verdicts and Settlements

Disability Rights

• Obtained precedent-setting and high-profile Temporary Restraining Order on behalf of large school district and nine district students against a public health order that violated Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act. (Douglas County School District RE-1 et al. v. Douglas County Health Department, 568 F. Supp. 3d 1158 (D. Colo. 2021))
• Prevailed in precedent-setting special education appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on behalf large school district (first-ever “child-find” decision by that court). (D.T. v. Cherry Creek School District No. 5, 55 F.4th 1268 (10th Cir. 2022))
• Obtained summary judgment for rural Colorado school district against claims made under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. (Neer v. Park County School District RE-2, 2021 WL 1165535 (D. Colo. Mar. 26, 2021))
• Obtained summary judgment for large Colorado school district and school administrators against claims under Title IX and Section 504. (Doe v. Brighton School District 27J, 2021 WL 4291009 (D. Colo. Sept. 21, 2021))
• Prevailed in all due process hearings handled under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and appeals of those decisions to federal courts.

Charter Schools

• Achieved precedent-setting Colorado Supreme Court decision on behalf of large school district interpreting Colorado Charter Schools Act. (Colorado State Board of Education v. Brannberg, 525 P.3d 290 (Colo. 2023))
• Successfully defended decisions of school districts across Colorado to reasonably deny applications from charter schools before the Colorado State Board of Education.
• Successfully defended against a petition to revoke a large school district’s exclusive chartering authority before Colorado State Board of Education.

Constitutional Claims

• Obtained full dismissal of religious discrimination claims against large school district challenging district’s use of gender-inclusive curriculum (Jones v. Boulder Valley School District RE-2, 2021 WL 5264188 (D. Colo. Oct. 4, 2021))
• Obtained full dismissal of Equal Protection claims against Colorado school administrator. (Doe v. School District No. 1, Denver, Colorado, 2019 WL 3425236 (D. Colo. July 30, 2019) (order as to other defendants reversed on appeal))

Admittances & Licenses

• State Bar of Colorado
• State Bar of Washington
• U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
• The Supreme Court of the United States

Professional Credentials & Activities

• Elected Member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents (At-Large)
• Former Chair, Boulder Parks & Recreation Advisory Board (appointed by City Council)
• Former Vice Chair, I Have A Dream Foundation of Boulder County Board of Directors
• Past Member, Colorado Bar Association CLE Board (appointed by CBA President)
• Former Member, Amicus Committee, National School Boards Association
• Former Vice Chair of Colorado Disability Funding Committee (appointed by Governor)
• Colorado Bar Association
• Boulder County Bar Association

Honors & Awards 

• Colorado Super Lawyers, 2024-2025
• Colorado Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2021-2022

Past Experience

• Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP, Associate Attorney, 2015-2017
• Judge Robert E. Bacharach, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Law Clerk, 2014-2015
• Judge A. Bruce Jones, Denver District Court, Law Clerk, 2012-2014
• Judge Morton Denlow, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Legal Extern, 2012
• United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, Summer Law Clerk, 2011
• S. Environmental Protection Agency, Legal Extern, 2011
• Teach For America, Director of Individual Giving, Chicago Region, 2007-2009
• Clark County (Nevada) School District Teacher, Teach For America, 2004-2006