Education Civil Rights Webinar Series

Back to School,
But Not Back to Normal

Six urgent conversations about the challenges facing students’ civil rights and what advocates, families, educators, and state leaders can do to ensure every student can learn, belong, and thrive.

September 24 through October 29 Free & virtual
Explore the series Learn about NCYL
Why this series

Students are back in school.
The landscape around them
has changed.

Millions of students are returning to classrooms across the country. Many of them, especially students of color, students with disabilities, immigrant students, and LGBTQI+ students, are facing challenges that threaten their ability to learn, belong, and thrive.

Join the National Center for Youth Law and partner organizations for a six-part webinar series examining urgent issues in education civil rights and the strategies available to communities, advocates, educators, and policymakers working to protect students.

The series

Six Thursdays. Six urgent conversations.

Registration is separate for each webinar. Times are listed in both PT and ET. Choose a session below to open its registration page.

Session 01

School Discipline and Discrimination: Unpacking The Department of Education’s New School Discipline Guidance

A conversation about new federal school discipline guidance, civil rights enforcement, and protecting students from discriminatory and exclusionary discipline.

Speakers
  • Andrew Hairston · Cirkiel Law Group; formerly Education Justice Project Director, Texas Appleseed
  • Bridget Joyce · Director of Programming, The Education Rights Institute, University of Virginia School of Law
  • Sarah Beach · Director of Research, The Education Rights Institute, University of Virginia School of Law
  • Dan Losen · Senior Director, Education, National Center for Youth Law
  • Sabrina Bernadel · Manager, Education Civil Rights Alliance, National Center for Youth Law
  • Moderator: Becky Monroe · Senior Director, Education and Civil Rights, National Center for Youth Law
1 general participatory MCLE credit
9 to 10 AM PT / 12 to 1 PM ET Register
Session 02

Strengthening Civil Rights Protections for Students at the State and Local Level: Introducing NCYL’s Model State Legislation Resource

An introduction to NCYL’s model state legislation resource and how advocates, students, and communities can use it to push for stronger education civil rights laws.

Speakers
  • Sabrina Bernadel · Manager, Education Civil Rights Alliance, National Center for Youth Law
  • Monique Dixon · Executive Director, Gibson-Banks Center for Race and the Law, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
  • Allegra Cira Fischer · Senior Policy Attorney, Disability Rights California
1 general participatory MCLE credit
12 to 1 PM PT / 3 to 4 PM ET Register
Session 03

Exposing the Truth About the So-Called Parents’ Rights Movement

A closer look at the policies and narratives advanced in the name of parents’ rights, and a better framework that protects all children.

Speakers
  • Johnathan Smith · Managing Director, Education and Federal Strategic Advocacy
  • Justin Hansford · Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law; Executive Director, Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center
  • Cameron Samuels · Executive Director and Co-Founder, Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT)
  • Brian Dittmeier · Director of LGBTQI+ Equality, National Women’s Law Center
  • Jennifer C. Berkshire · Bloch Lecturer in Education Journalism, Yale University
  • Rebecca Gudeman · Managing Director of Health & Well-being, National Center for Youth Law
1 general participatory MCLE credit
12 to 1 PM PT / 3 to 4 PM ET Register
Session 04

Filling the Federal Void: Understanding State Civil Rights Protections Students Can Use Now

A conversation about the state-level civil rights tools, protections, and strategies students, families, and advocates can use now to defend students’ rights.

Speakers
  • Michael Campion · Deputy Director, New Jersey Division on Civil Rights
  • Becky Monroe · Senior Director, Education and Civil Rights, National Center for Youth Law
  • Katy Joseph · Principal, J&E Strategies; Senior Fellow, Edley Center on Law and Democracy
  • Laura Faer · Senior Program Manager and Staff Attorney, Edley Center on Law and Democracy
  • Kelsey Bakken · Director of Policy, Advance Illinois
  • Leticia Mercado · Policy Associate, Advance Illinois
1 general participatory MCLE credit
12 to 1 PM PT / 3 to 4 PM ET Register
NCYL tools

Resources to help students and families.

Use these resources alongside the webinar series to understand the education civil rights landscape, explore the data, and find practical tools for action.

State of Student Civil Rights Explore the 50-state legal landscape for student civil rights and see what protections exist where you live. Explore the 50-state resource California School Discipline Data Webtool Explore district-level discipline data, disparities, lost instructional time, and patterns affecting students across California. Explore the data NCYL on the New Federal School Discipline Guidance Read NCYL’s latest response to federal school discipline guidance and what it means for civil rights protections in schools. Read the press release