Legal Advocacy & Impact Litigation

We work strategically and collaboratively with co-counsel partners, community organizations, and named plaintiffs to bring impact litigation that represents broad classes of children and youth across multiple public systems.

Browse Legal Cases

Focus AreaCase Jurisdiction
StatusCase TypeLocation

Committee to Defend Reproductive Rights v. Myers

Filing Date1981-05-08
NCYL staff attorney Abigail English, working with other advocates, won a ruling from the California Supreme Court that poor, pregnant women, including teenagers, have a right under the California Constitution to state funding for abortions as well as for prenatal care.
Inactive
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Sullivan v. Zebley

Filing Date1990-05-08
Staff attorney Alice Bussiere represented amici before the US Supreme Court in this case, which expanded by some 450,000 the number of poor children able to obtain both cash benefits and Medicaid coverage through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
Inactive
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Sanchez v. California Interscholastic Federation

Filing Date2015-02-02
This case filed in Trinity County, California Superior Court involved the rights of homeless youth to fully participate in school, including extracurricular activities. CIF, the governing body of interscholastic sports in California, had wrongfully delayed and blocked homeless student Zachary Sanchez from playing sports.
Inactive
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Bryan Independent School District

Filing Date2013-02-20
Bryan Independent School District's use of school resource officers to issue criminal sanctions for a range of minor student misbehavior unlawfully impacts African-American students, who are "cited" at a rate four times that of other students, according to a complaint filed by attorneys with Texas Appleseed, NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the National Center for Youth Law.
Inactive
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Dyer v. California Interscholastic Federation

Filing Date2008-11-01
On November 24, 2008, NCYL won a major case in California, securing fair and equal treatment of foster youth who play high school sports. The victory has led to major changes affecting thousands of foster youth.
Inactive
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Browse Resources

Focus AreaAudience
Location
Helping Our Students Thrive: How schools can support student mental health and well-being

Helping Our Students Thrive: How schools can support student mental health and well-being

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Preventing and mitigating youth trauma, family separations: California’s SB 578

Preventing and mitigating youth trauma, family separations: California’s SB 578

Every child and young person needs and deserves to be unconditionally healthy, safe, and thriving in all the complexity of their humanity. As they grow and build toward the future they envision for themselves, children and youth must be free from state surveillance, policing, and coercive control. They must be able to seek the support they believe they, their families, and/or their communities need without fear of punishment or further harm. 
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Better supporting LGBTQIA2S+ youth survivors of commercial sexual exploitation

Better supporting LGBTQIA2S+ youth survivors of commercial sexual exploitation

Every young person should be supported in being themselves and afforded the same opportunities to learn, grow and chase their dreams. For youth who are LGBTQIA2S+, however, this ideal often conflicts with their reality.
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Improving supports for male survivors of sexual exploitation

Improving supports for male survivors of sexual exploitation

All young people deserve safe spaces and connections with supportive people who promote their health and well-being, allowing them to be who they are and pursue their dreams. The unfortunate reality, however, is this isn't always the case.
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California’s AB 665: Equitable access to mental health services

California’s AB 665: Equitable access to mental health services

Every child deserves safe spaces and opportunities to connect with supportive people as they grow, learn about themselves and the world around them, and develop the skills they'll need to navigate the many challenges of life.
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Restoring Critical Protections for Unaccompanied Children

Restoring Critical Protections for Unaccompanied Children

All children – including unaccompanied children seeking safety when they arrive in the United States from all over the world – deserve protections that promote their health and well-being.
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Understanding Alternative Schools Run by California’s 5 Largest County Offices of Education

Understanding Alternative Schools Run by California’s 5 Largest County Offices of Education

All California K-12 students deserve an engaging education that supports and prepares them for college, career, and community life. 
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