Youth and Education Law Project: Clinical Methods

Catalog description

The Youth and Education Advocacy Clinic offers students the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of educational rights and reform work, including direct representation of youth and families in special education and school discipline matters, community outreach and education, school reform litigation, and/or strategic policy research and consulting. All students will have an opportunity to represent elementary and high school students with disabilities in special education proceedings, to represent students in school discipline proceedings, or to work with coalitions and/or other education-sector agencies to advance equity-minded educational policies and school reform. Students working on special education matters will have the opportunity to handle all aspects of their clients' cases. Students working in this area will interview and counsel clients, investigate and develop facts, work with medical and mental health professionals and experts, conduct legal and educational research, create case plans, and represent clients at individual education program (IEP) team meetings, mediation or special education due process hearings. This work will offer students a chance to study the relationship between individual special education advocacy and system-wide reform efforts such as impact litigation. Students working on school discipline matters will interview and counsel clients, investigate and develop facts, interview witnesses, conduct legal and educational research, create case plans, and represent clients at school discipline hearings such as expulsion hearings. Such hearings provide the opportunity to present oral and written argument, examine witnesses, and present evidence before a hearing officer. If appropriate and necessary, such proceedings also present the opportunity to represent students on appeal before the school district board of trustees or the…