About me
Marcelo Quiñones currently serves as the General Counsel for the Alameda County Office of Education. Marcelo advises ACOE on its operation of schools for the county’s most vulnerable student populations and its support for the 18 Alameda County public school districts.
Prior to joining ACOE, Marcelo led the Education Law Team and served as a member of the Social Justice and Impact Litigation Team in the Santa Clara County Counsel’s office. He specializes in solving complex problems for K-14 local educational agencies by demystifying complex legal frameworks and identifying concrete solutions. As a former fifth grade teacher, Marcelo understands and appreciates the school setting and classroom dynamics, and he applies this background and perspective in offering practical guidance to administrators that reflects an understanding of schools’ core missions and the complexities of the educational environment. He has advised on a broad array of student services matters, board policy and administrative regulation updates, confidentiality of education records, contracting, board governance, public records, school discipline, interdistrict transfer requests, and policy initiatives.
Marcelo previously worked on enforcement and regulatory guidance in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), with an emphasis on language access services for students and families and disparities in school discipline. He led OCR’s investigation into the discipline practices of one of the largest school districts in the country. Marcelo utilizes his experience supervising, conducting, and advising on policy related to civil rights investigation while at the U.S. Department of Education to conduct thorough and impartial investigations on sensitive and high-profile matters for school districts.
While in private practice, Marcelo represented government entities in charter school matters and commercial clients in corporate and government investigations, securities enforcement, and complex commercial litigation. His pro bono practice emphasized educational equity, including language access, school assignment practices, and a case in which he represented Mexican American students challenging Arizona’s ethnic studies ban.
Marcelo’s professional expertise includes education law, civil rights laws, government contracting and investigations, policy initiatives and affirmative litigation, and juvenile justice records, institutions, and services.
As a first-generation college student and a second-generation immigrant who first learned about resilience and the importance of education from witnessing the persistence and achievements of his family, Marcelo has dedicated his career to expanding educational opportunities for students.
