CONFERENCE AGENDA o f

LOYOL A U N I V ER SI T Y CH ICAG O
S C H O O L o f L AW
Children’s legal rights Journal pReSeNtS:
Discipline in Schools:
Moving Beyond Zero Tolerance
FRIDAY, octobeR 17, 2014 • 8:30 Am – 3:30 pm
pHILIp H. coRboY LAW ceNteR
poWeR RogeRS & SmItH ceRemoNIAL coURtRoom, 10tH FLooR
25 eASt peARSoN StReet, cHIcAgo
Symposium Editor: Melissa Anderson • Assistant Symposium Editor: Sharon Falen
CONFERENCE AGENDA
FRIDAY, oc tobe R 17, 2014
8:30-9:00 Am • Check-in and Breakfast
9:00-9:15 Am • Introductory Remarks
A
lexandraHunsteinRoffman
Children’s Legal Rights Journal
AmandaWalsh
Children’s Legal Rights Journal
9:15-9:45 Am • Overview of School
Discipline Reform
D
anLosen
Civil Rights Project
9:45-10:30 Am • Special Address
C
atherineLhamon
U.S. Department of Education
Office for Civil Rights
10:30-10:45 pm • Break
10:45-11:10 Am • Focus on Illinois Reform
and Potential Legislation
11:10-11:35 Am • Local Accomplishments
and Challenges in School Disciple Reform
MariameKaba
Project NIA
11:35-11:50 Am • Break & Bring
Boxed Lunches into Courtroom
11:50 Am -12:20 pm • Luncheon Panel –
Teens Talk: Voices of Youth in Chicago
Education (VOYCE)
M
oderator:JoseSanchez
VOYCE
12:20-1:30 pm • Panel #1
SpecialFocus:Schoolto
PrisonPipelinePanel
MichelleRappaport
Building Bridges
RachelShapiro
Equip for Equality
ElissaJohnson
Southern Poverty Law Center
Moderator:DanLosen
Civil Rights Project
1:30-1:45 pm • Break
1:45-3:00 pm • Panel #2
SpecialFocus:PolicyReformIssues
andCharterSchools
J essicaSchneider
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee
for Civil Rights
CharlieWysong
Equip for Equality
J ulieWaterstone
Southwestern Law School
Moderator:MirandaJohnson
Loyola University Chicago School of Law
3:00-3:30 pm • Closing Remarks
RegIStRAtIoN LUc.edu/law/clrjsymposium
SpeAKeR bIogRApHIeS
DANIeL J. LoSeN is director of the Center for
Civil Rights Remedies, an initiative at UCLA’s Civil
Rights Project. Mr. Losen’s work concerns the
impact of law and policy on children of color
and language minority students, including IDEA
and racial inequity in special education; school
discipline; and revealing and redressing the
“School-to-Prison Pipeline.” Mr. Losen regularly
provides guidance to policymakers, educators,
and advocates at the state and district level.
Before becoming an attorney, Mr. Losen taught
in public schools for ten years. Mr. Losen
received his law degree from Georgetown
University and a MEd at Lesley University.
cAtHeRINe e. LHAmoN is the assistant
secretary for civil rights at the US. Department of
Education. Ms. Lhamon’s 17-year track record of
success has earned her accolades as one of
California’s top women lawyers, and as a lawyer of
the year for civil rights. She was also named one
of California’s Top 20 Lawyers Under 40 in 2007.
Immediately prior to coming to the Department
of Education, Ms. Lhamon was the director of
impact litigation at Public Counsel, which is the
nation’s largest pro bono law firm. Before coming
to Public Counsel, Ms. Lhamon practiced for a
decade at the ACLU of Southern California,
ultimately as assistant legal director. Before then,
Ms. Lhamon was a teaching fellow and
supervising attorney in the Appellate Litigation
Program at Georgetown University Law Center
after clerking for the Honorable William A. Norris
on the United States Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit. She received her JD from Yale Law
coNFeReNce coSt
School, where she was The Outstanding Woman
Law Graduate and graduated summa cum laude
from Amherst College.
mARIAme KAbA is the founding director of
Project NIA, an innovative program that offers a
new way of thinking about crime and violence
using the principles of restorative justice, which
has been shown to meet the needs of victims,
reduce recidivism, and improve satisfaction with
the legal system. She has written and published
several articles and essays about urban
education, youth leadership, and most recently, a
series of neighborhood-specific juvenile justice
data snapshots. She also co-authored a report on
juvenile arrests in Chicago titled “Arresting
Justice” (with Caitlin Patterson).
mIcHeLLe RAppApoRt obtained her MSW from
Loyola University Chicago. She has worked within
the field of special education for over 25 years,
specializing in working with at-risk youth who are
frequently in crisis. Throughout her career she has
worked as a school social worker and crisis
intervention specialist. In her current position,
she serves as an office intervention social worker
with high school students in a public therapeutic
day school. She has worked with all levels and all
ages of students in primary and secondary
education. Ms. Rappaport travels to many cities
and helps schools or districts implement her
Building Bridges program, an in-school
curriculum used as an alternative to suspension
by helping students build skills and process
behaviors that would have ended in suspended.
No cHARge • For Loyola students and faculty,
and individuals who do not wish to obtain CLE credits
RAcHeL SHApIRo is a supervising attorney in the
Special Education Clinic at Equip for Equality
(EFE), where she provides legal representation to
children with unmet special education needs
involved in the Cook County juvenile court
system. Juveniles in the court system have a right
to a free and appropriate public education under
IDEA. Ms. Shapiro has seen first-hand the positive
effects of appropriate special education services
through working with children with autism. She
also was an Equal Justice Works Fellow, where she
began her work addressing the educational
needs of juveniles involved in the court system to
increase children’s chances at getting a proper
education and decrease their chances of
re-entering juvenile court.
JeSSIcA ScHNeIDeR is currently a staff attorney
eLISSA JoHNSoN (MSW ’11, JD ’11 ) is a staff
attorney at Equip for Equality. Mr. Wysong
represents students with disabilities and their
families in school discipline proceeding and
special education matters throughout Illinois,
with a focus on charter schools. He has several
projects underway to examine the discipline
policies, due process protections, and outcomes
of students in Illinois charter schools. Prior to
working at Equip for Equality, Mr. Wysong clerked
for Judge Richard Posner of the US Court of
Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He received his
undergraduate degree in Public Policy from the
University of Chicago, law degree from Stanford
Law School, and MEd in Education Policy from the
Stanford University School of Education.
attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center in
Jackson, Mississippi and a fellow in the National
Juvenile Justice Network’s Youth Justice Leadership
Institute, a year-long program that aims to create a
more effective foundation for the juvenile justice
reform movement. Ms. Johnson advocates on
behalf of incarcerated children to address
unconstitutional and abusive conditions in juvenile
detention centers. The goal of her project as a
fellow is to pass legislation that would create
licensing standards for all of the juvenile detention
centers in Mississippi. The purpose of licensing
standards would be to set a standard of care across
the board, to reduce recidivism, and to make sure
that resources are spent as effectively as possible.
Elissa received both her MSW and JD degrees from
Loyola University Chicago.
$50
$40
• Individuals seeking CLE credits
• Loyola graduates seeking CLE credits
at the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
in the Educational Equity and Fair Housing
Projects. She began at the Chicago Lawyers’
Committee in 2011 as a Civil Rights Fellow. Ms.
Schneider coordinates the Educational Equality
Project, including a pro bono project representing
students in expulsion hearings and other
educational civil rights issues. Prior to joining the
Committee Ms. Schneider volunteered at the
CARPLS, coordinated advice and referral program
where she provided legal advice in family law,
housing, and consumer debt. Ms. Schneider
received her BA from Washington University in St.
Louis and her JD from DePaul University.
cHARLIe WYSoNg is a Skadden Fellow and staff
50% Fee ReDUctIoN for attorneys working
in the areas of government or public interest
JULIe WAteRStoNe is a visiting clinical
professor of law from Southwestern Law
School, where she is the associate dean for
experiential learning and a clinical professor of
law. At Southwestern, Professor Waterstone
teaches and directs the Children’s Rights Clinic
and teaches a Special Education Law Seminar.
Her work focuses on the rights of children,
particularly in the areas of special education
and school discipline. Professor Waterstone
received her BA degree from the University of
California, Santa Barbara, and her JD from
Northwestern University School of Law.
mIRANDA JoHNSoN is the associate director of
the Education Law and Policy Institute at Loyola
University Chicago School of Law where she
teaches experiential learning courses in special
education and school discipline. Prior to
assuming this position, Ms. Johnson served as
the Salisbury Clinical Teaching Fellow in Child
and Family Law in Loyola’s Civitas ChildLaw
Clinic, where she supervised law students in the
representation of parents and students in school
discipline and special education cases. Ms.
Johnson completed a joint law and policy
degree program, obtaining a JD from New York
University School of Law and a MA in Public
Affairs from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School
of Public and International Affairs.
RegIStRAtIoN
LUc.edu/law/clrjsymposium
AboUt tHe coNFe Re Nce • The Children’s Legal Rights Journal proudly announces “Discipline in Schools:
Moving Beyond Zero Tolerance,” to be held on October 17, 2014.
This one-day conference will explore the issue of school discipline. In January 2014, the Obama administration
issued guidelines calling for an end to zero-tolerance policies in schools across the nation. Speakers will discuss
the changing landscape of school discipline, including achievements and challenges in implementing new school
practices. This event will also focus on how reform efforts impact both the school-to-prison pipeline and discipline
in charter schools.
coNFe Re Nce Loc AtIoN • The conference will be in the Power Rogers & Smith Ceremonial Courtroom
located on the 10th floor of the Philip H. Corboy Law Center, 25 E. Pearson Street, Chicago. Validated parking is
available in a number of locations adjacent to the School of Law.
coNFe Re Nce coSt • Loyola University Chicago School of Law is pleased to present this Conference at no
charge for Loyola students and faculty and individuals not seeking CLE credits. For those who wish to obtain
credit, registration fees are $50, or $40 for School of Law alumni. There is no charge for CLE credit for current
faculty, staff, or students, and an immediate 50% fee reduction is offered for attorneys working in the areas of
government or public interest. Seating is limited and registration is appreciated. Open seating will be available on
a first-come basis to those who do not register. For registration information, please visit LUC.edu/law/clrj.
Thisprogramhasalsobeenapprovedfor5.5hoursofCEUcredit.AnyoneseekingCEUcreditscanregisterata
discountedrateof$25.ThisconferencehasbeenapprovedbytheIllinoisMCLEBoardfor4.5hoursofGeneral
MCLEcredit.
AboUt Ch i ldre n ’s legal right s Journal • The Children’s Legal Rights Journal (CLRJ) is a
multidisciplinary journal published three times annually in conjunction with the American Bar Association
Center on Children and the Law, the National Association of Counsel for Children, and Loyola University Chicago’s
Civitas ChildLaw Center. The CLRJ focuses on the broad range of legal issues confronting children. Its goal is to
provide practitioners in law and related fields with the practical resources they need to be effective advocates
for their child clients. CLRJ readership consists of lawyers, social workers, physicians, researchers, mental health
professionals, law enforcement personnel, and educators. The majority of the readership has direct contact with
school-aged children at some point in their professional careers.
The Children’s Legal Rights Journal is now available in an online format published by Loyola University Chicago
School of Law’s Civitas ChildLaw Center. To access the Journal, beginning with Volume 33, Issue 1 (Spring 2013),
please visit www.childrenslegalrightsjournal.com.
For more information, please visit: LUC.edu/law/student/publications/clrj or MelissaAndersonat
manderson7@luc.eduorAlexandraHunsteinRoffmanatahunstein@luc.edu.
Philip H. Corboy Law Center
25 E. Pearson St.
Chicago, IL 60611