March 2022
CFCC Connections is the newsletter of the University of Baltimore School of Law Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC).
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Empowering Families to Know Their Rights |
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CFCC Truancy Court Program Attorney Offers Insights on the Rights of Parents/Caregivers and Students in School Discipline |
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A suspension or expulsion can have lasting and devastating impacts on a child’s academic progress, and ultimately, their future. We also know that Black students and students with disabilities are far more likely to be suspended or expelled than other students.
A 2018 study by the Maryland Equity Project found that nearly 60% of out-of-school suspensions in Maryland were of Black students, despite the fact that Black students make up only 35% of the state’s public school enrollment. The suspension rate for Black students was twice that of white students. The study also found that students with disabilities represent 13% of Maryland’s public school population but account for nearly 25% of out-of-school suspensions.
When faced with a suspension or expulsion, it is critical for students and parents to understand their legal rights.
From Spencer Hall, CFCC’s Truancy Court Program Attorney, here are five important things for parents to know about their families’ rights in the suspension/expulsion process:
- Pre-K, kindergarten and first and second grade students may not be suspended or expelled, except in very limited circumstances.
- A student cannot be suspended for minor infractions, such as tardiness or being out of uniform.
- Only the principal has the authority to suspend or expel a student.
- The school must provide a letter explaining the reason for the suspension.
- Students who are suspended have the right to make up any missed work.
For more detail on each of these rights, read the full article on CFCC’s blog and join us for the Know Your Rights webinar on March 29 for a full discussion of these issues and additional legal protections in place for students who receive special education services.
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Don’t Miss the
CFCC TCP Webinar
Know Your Rights – School Discipline, Suspensions and Expulsions, Special Education
6-7pm, March 29, 2022, via Zoom
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Please join us for CFCC’s second spring webinar, which will provide important information for families on the rights of parents/caregivers and students related to school discipline and special education services. Hosted by CFCC Executive Director Rebecca Stahl with panelists Spencer Hall, CFCC TCP Attorney, who will discuss the legal rights of students and families when faced with disciplinary action, and Megan Berger, Assistant Managing Attorney at Disability Rights Maryland, who will speak to the disproportionate impact on students with disabilities and additional legal protections in place for students who receive special education services. Registered participants can submit questions for the panelists during the Zoom session.
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TONIGHT, Tuesday, March 22 –
CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi will moderate a conversation with Brittney Cooper, Associate Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University and author of Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower. This event is free and in-person as well as virtual at 7 p.m. at the Enoch Pratt Free Library Central location at 400 Cathedral Street. Registration for the in-person event ends at noon on Tuesday, March 22. Visit the event page for info or to register.
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You Can Still Help TCP Families - Last Day to
Contribute to Spring Break Food Baskets is March 25!
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CFCC operates the Truancy Court Program (TCP) in some of Baltimore’s most underserved neighborhoods. Working to re-engage students and families with their schools, the TCP identifies and addresses the reasons why students are missing school, many of which relate to poverty. Many of our families rely on school meals that are not available when school is not in session. Your donation will help us provide food baskets to as many of our TCP students and families as possible before Spring Break. Each basket costs about $40 and will include enough food to share with the student's household. Thank you for helping to support Baltimore City students and their families during this difficult time!
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CFCC Truancy Court Program Attorney Spencer Hall, with the support of the CFCC team, presented an overview of the CFCC Truancy Court Program to the Baltimore School Climate Collaborative (BSCC) on January 11, 2022. The BSCC has monthly gatherings with school-climate-based organizations where they can update, network, and form alliances. |
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Shanta Trivedi’s opinion letter, What's happening in Texas should come as no surprise, appeared in The Washington Post on February 28, 2022, in response to the article, “Tex. governor calls for child abuse investigations of transgender care.” She argues that v ague definitions of abuse and neglect open the door to state-approved discrimination, and such laws have historically been used to control Black and Native families, who live in constant fear that their children could be removed.
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CFCC Founding Director Barbara Babb's 2019 book, Caring for Families in Court: An Essential Approach to Family Justice, co-authored with Judy Moran, is now available in paperback. The authors propose an approach to family justice system reform that envisions the family court as a "care center," by blending existing theories surrounding court reform in family law with an ethic of care and narrative practice.
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Save the Date, Thursday, September 29 – CFCC Symposium Returns!
In our first return to an in-person gathering since 2019, CFCC focuses on the causes and consequences of family separation in our country. When children are separated from their parents based on parents’ immigration status or incarceration, or due to interventions by the child welfare system, the impact on children is severe and lasts throughout their lives. Please save the date for this important day-long conversation on an issue that has disproportionate effects on our most vulnerable children.
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April 7 – Iowa State Bar Association Juvenile Law Conference, virtual – Shanta Trivedi will offer a keynote address on the harm of child removal.
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We congratulate Michele Hong for her promotion to the role of CFCC Deputy Director! Michele has served as CFCC’s Program Manager since 2015. Prior to joining CFCC, she was a policy analyst with the Institute for Innovation and Implementation at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, and she served as Policy Coordinator for Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice at Advocates for Children and Youth. Before that, she was Associate General Counsel at Kaplan, Inc., in New York, and a litigation associate at Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson and RubinBaum (now Dentons). She currently sits on the board for the Fund for Educational Excellence, a nonprofit local education fund that works to support students attending Baltimore City Public Schools. She received a J.D. from Cornell Law School and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
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CFCC's Community Resource Guide for Families
Recognizing that families living in poverty are at greatest risk of involvement with the child welfare system and/or criminal legal system, CFCC publishes comprehensive guides to community-based resources offering help with issues that often lead to family separation through the foster care system or parental incarceration. We will publish new issue-targeted guides on a regular basis.
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The Community Resource Guides are a work in progress ... Does your organization provide services? If your organization provides services for low-income or other marginalized members of our community, email us with information on your organization at cfcc@ubalt.edu.
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CFCC’s Benchbook for Family Courts on Substance Use Disorders – Second Edition provides valuable insight into the science of addiction, the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs), how SUDs affect children and families in many family law cases and how family courts can intervene in ways that lead to better outcomes. The good news is that with a recognized neurobiological basis for substance use disorders, there is potential for recovery. Evidence-based interventions can prevent harmful substance use and related problems, and the courts have considerable power to influence individuals suffering from these disorders.
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About CFCC
The Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) supports families, communities and the justice system to improve the lives of children and families and to strengthen communities.
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