LAJC Joins New Education Civil Rights Alliance

CONTACT:
Rachael Deane
Legal Director, JustChildren Program
804-521-7304 | rachael@justice4all.org

Legal Aid Justice Center Joins the Education Civil Rights Alliance to Fight Back Against Civil Rights Violations Threatening Students

Charlottesville, Virginia (November 2, 2017) — In the face of increasing threats to student civil rights in Virginia and throughout the nation, Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) has joined with more than two dozen leading education and civil rights groups to launch the Education Civil Rights Alliance (ECR Alliance).

Schools should serve, educate, empower and be safe for all students, yet all across America today, far too many students face bullying and other barriers to education based on their race, religion, national origin, gender identity, disability, first language, or sexual orientation. Immigrant children continue to be illegally denied the right to enroll in school. Increasingly divisive and hateful rhetoric and growing anti-Muslim and White nationalist sentiment only serve to exacerbate the threats to already marginalized vulnerable students.

“We are pleased to join the Education Civil Rights Alliance and to stand against discrimination and hate in Virginia’s schools,” said Rachael Deane, Legal Director of LAJC’s JustChildren program. “All students in Virginia have the right to education in safe schools, and we will continue to work with students and parents across the Commonwealth to ensure that all children have the protection, services, and supports they need to be successful in school and in their communities.”

The ECR Alliance will ensure the civil rights of marginalized students remain protected by providing resources to help parents, educators, school districts, and advocates protect students’ civil rights, supporting enforcement actions at the state and local level when schools districts and states fail to do so, working to raise public awareness of these challenges facing students, and serving as a deterrent to discriminatory and illegal behavior.

This alliance includes powerful community groups, experienced educators, the nation’s largest teachers unions, accomplished legal organizations, influential national associations, civil rights organizations, and government agencies committed to ensuring that schools serve, educate, empower and are safe for all students. Members of the ECR Alliance have extensive experience in, and a deep commitment to, protecting students’ civil rights.

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