Margaret Dalton

Professor Dalton teaches Education Law, Special Education and Disability Law, Family Law, Health Law, Child Advocacy/Children's Rights, and supervises the Education Law Externship.

Professor Margaret A. Dalton served in the Dean's Office as Associate Dean, Interim Dean and Vice Dean from 2016 to July 2024, when she returned to full-time teaching and research. Previously, Professor Dalton was the faculty director for Clinical and Placement Education, which includes clinical education and field placements. During her 12 years as Director of the Legal Clinics, she doubled the number of clinics, including establishing partnerships with the California Board of Equalization and the Legal Aid Employment Law Center. She was the supervising attorney for the Education & Disability Clinic, which she created in 2003 with a discretionary award from The California Endowment. Professor Dalton teaches family law, special education law, and skills courses.

Professor Dalton’s service to the profession and community includes four years on the Special Education Advisory Committee for the California Office of Administrative Hearings (2011-2013 and 2017 – present), three years on the State Bar Trust Fund Program’s IOLTA Restructuring Committee (2013-2016), and five years on the Clinical and Education Committee for the San Diego Center for Children (2015-present).

Her work has been recognized with the Bernard E. Witkin Award for Excellence in Legal Education by the San Diego Law Library Foundation in 2018, as a Top Attorney by the San Diego Daily Transcript in 2015, with the STAR Award from the COMPASS Family Center in 2010, and as the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year by the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program iin 2007, among other honors.

Professor Dalton’s most recent publication is Californa School Law (Stanford University Press, 4th Edition, released in February 2026 with co-author attorney Dean Adams). Other scholarly work includes Charter Schools Earn a Reprieve with a 4-4 Split in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, The Blue Brief: Faculty Review of the 2024-2025 U.S. Supreme Court Term (2025); Fact Sheet: “Threat Assessments in K-12 Education,” Practising Law Institute, San Francisco, Special Education Conference Materials (2023); COVID-19 and Preventing Harm to Vulnerable Children, 57 San Diego Law Review 865 (2020) (with Heldman & Fellmeth); a book chapter, “Procedural Safeguards and Remedies,” in Special Education Law and Policy: From Foundation to Application (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Plural Publishing, November 2020); and,  “Forgotten Children: Rethinking the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Provisions,” which appeared in American University’s Journal of Gender, Social Policy and the Law in April 2019. She has been quoted by NPR, U.S. News & World Report, ABC 10 News, Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Daily Transcript and numerous other media.

Professor Dalton has been a consultant for the California Judicial Council’s Committee on Access and Fairness, the National Association of Child Advocates, the California Office of Women’s Health, and the Center for Public Interest Law. She previously held positions in the Children’s Advocacy Institute (Project Director, Information Clearinghouse on Children) and Patient Advocacy Program, both at USD. She was the first editor for the Children’s Regulatory Law Reporter.

Professor Dalton’s work has been recognized with the Witkin Award for Excellence in Legal Education by the San Diego Law Library Foundation in 2018, as a Top Attorney by the San Diego Daily Transcript in 2015, with the STAR Award from the COMPASS Family Center in 2010, and as the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year by the San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program in 2007, among other honors.