Laws and Policy

We implement policy advocacy at the federal, state, and local levels. Our work includes policy development, lobbying, coalition building, and community organizing.

Browse Laws & Policy

Youth Reinvestment Grant (2023)

AB 912 (Jones-Sawyer)

Youth deserve care and support, not surveillance and confinement. Our responses to young people should emphasize positive youth development approaches over punitive measures and incarceration.

Active

Justice for Survivors (2023)

AB 1497 (Haney)

AB 1497 (Haney) is a law intended to expand protections and remedies for is a crucial bill in California aimed at ensuring that all survivors of intimate partner violence, human trafficking, and sexual other forms of violence including those charged and convicted of violent felonies. Protections and remedies would include an affirmative defense and can petition the court for vacatur relief. Bill was held in an Appropriations Committee.

Inactive

Ending Childhood Prosecution (2022 & 2023)

HB 22-1131 (Gonzales-Gutierrez)

This bill ends the early criminalization of children by establishing a minimum age for juvenile court prosecution at age 12

Active

Debt-Free Justice for Michigan (2022)

HB 4987 / HB 4988 / HB 4989

Every year, justice-involved young people in Michigan and their families are thrown into significant debt due to excessive court fines and fees levied upon them as they move through the juvenile justice system. These costs do not improve public safety and may actually harm the child's future by putting them increasing financial stress or keeping them under court supervision for a longer period of time.

Inactive

Youth Bill of Rights (2022)

AB 2417 (Ting)

California's 2022 Youth Bill of Rights legislation would ensure that youth who are incarcerated know their rights and are informed of the newly-established state ombudsperson office. With the closure of California's state-run prisons, there is an urgent need to reassert these rights for youth and ensure youth understand their rights.

Enacted

Expanding Access to Diplomas for Highly Mobile Students (2021 & 2022)

SB 532 (Caballero)

SB 532 builds bridges to a high school diploma and post-secondary educational success for highly mobile students.

Enacted

End Endless Probation (2021 & 2022)

AB 503 (Stone)

AB 503 improves outcomes for youth by minimizing the time they spend on probation, and tailoring probation conditions to meet their needs.

Inactive

Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Protections Act (2021)

AB 1140 (Rivas)

AB 1140 clarifies the responsibilities of the California Office of the Foster Care Ombudsperson, and their jurisdiction, to provide oversight of unaccompanied immigrant children held in state-licensed Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) facilities.

Enacted

Justice for Survivors (2021)

AB 124 (Kamlager)

AB 124 (Kamlager) aims to support survivors of violence, including domestic violence and human trafficking, by providing trauma-informed charging, sentencing, and resentencing relief and trial advocacy considerations.

Enacted

Browse Resources

In Harm’s Way: The Persistence of Unjust Discipline Experienced by California’s Students

The purpose of this report is to demonstrate that California’s educators continue to kick students out of school at disparate and high rates, mostly for minor misconduct, and that students in the foster system and those experiencing homelessness are being removed from school at far higher rates than others.

Youth and Community Advocacy Resources

Federal Advocacy Toolkit for Parents and Caregivers

This non-partisan toolkit is intended to help parents and caregivers to take their first steps, alongside their child(ren), to engage in federal advocacy in the United States, on issues that matter to them and their families.

Youth Justice in the United States: Rollbacks & the Fight for Reform

Over the past two decades, the U.S. cut youth incarceration by 75%, replacing punishment with community-based programs, restorative justice, and trauma-informed care that improved both public safety and young lives. But this hard-won progress is now at risk.

California School Discipline Data Webtool

A Legal Advocacy Guide: Combatting Racial Discrimination and Censorship in K-12 Public Schools

This guide is meant to serve as a tool for understanding legal protections that can help students, families, and educators push back against racial discrimination and censorship in K-12 public schools.

Education Civil Rights Alliance Responds to Executive Orders Targeting Discipline Reform & Disparate Impact

On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued two executive orders that will erode civil rights protections for students if implemented.

Cash Benefits and Other Assistance: The Experiences of Expectant and Parenting Youth in California Foster Care

Expectant and parenting youth (EPY) with current or prior involvement in foster care experience multiple educational, health, and financial stressors. As EPY navigate the transition into adulthood and parenting, they often do so with reduced family support and greater systemic and financial challenges, making it harder for them to achieve what they want for themselves and their children. While support programs do exist, young parents have reported challenges accessing existing benefit programs.

JusticeEd: Year Four Progress Update

At the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL), we envision a future where each and every system-impacted young person is able to graduate from high school with the widest array of possibilities for their future.