The Advocate - A Newsletter from the Youth Advocacy Foundation and EdLaw Project

Hello YAF Friends & Supporters,

A happy autumn and hearty thanks to all of our supporters. With school back in session, the activity is picking up at EdLaw and YAF. Please enjoy our first quarter of FY2025 newsletter. Since our next one will come out in the new year, we want to wish a happy thanksgiving and happy holidays in advance to all of you!

Duci Goncalves

Chair of the Board

Marlies Spanjaard

YAF President & CEO

Michele Scavongelli

YAF Executive Director

THIS COMING WEDNESDAY!

November 6, 2024 6-7:30pm

Join us for a conversation about Juvenile Justice! Meet author and former New Orleans Public Defender, Joshua Perry for a reading and book signing of his newly published novel, "Seraphim" in The Reading Room at the More Than Words Bookstore on Wednesday, November 6th from 6-7:30pm.

Joining Josh Perry for a discussion of juvenile defense will be former Youth Advocacy Division director and YAF Founder, Josh Dohan.

Come out and bring some friends! Light refreshments will be served. Tickets are free, but space is limited and there are only a handful of tickets left, so please reserve your spot by getting your FREE ticket here:

YAFBookEvent.eventbrite.com

Get Your Free Ticket Now!

EdLaw Social Service Advocates

Our Social Service Advocate, Richie Torres, working with one of the adult division of CPCS attorneys, was able to support a 19-year-old student with both his education and employment. He helped this young man get clothing needed for his job and a laptop computer for school. This student was out of school for over a year (he had been working 3 jobs to help support his 6 siblings) and Richie helped him sign up for a summer program in which he started earning school credits. He started back in school full-time in September and is earning all A's and is on track to meet his goal to graduate next May and is starting to think about college.

YAF Client Support Fund

One of YAF’s most exciting new initiatives in FY24 was the creation of a “Client Support Fund.” This fund is available to cover emergency expenses for transportation and basic needs that clients and their families require. A student cannot focus on school without food in their stomach, a roof over their head, appropriate clothing, and many other necessities. In September, we sent out a call to our supporters to help us help students succeed as they headed back to school with this fund!

We'd like to thank everyone who supported our clients with recent donations to our client support fund. If you missed our recent appeal, please read some of the testimonies from our staff on how this fund has helped!

$25 can provide an Uber ride to and from school for a student without reliable transportation
$50 can provide clean underwear and socks for a student who only has the clothing on their back
$100 can provide a student with a weeks worth of groceries when their government provided food benefits are interrupted
$250 covers the cost of a phone for a youth seeking employment

When basic needs are not addressed, success is school is not possible.

V.O.I.C.E.S. Update

VOICES, which stands for Voices of Impacted Communities Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline, is a dedicated group committed to addressing and transforming the systemic barriers that disproportionately affect youth of color.

On July 26th, VOICES members came together for a day filled with arcade games and laser tag in Woburn, an opportunity to build connections and enjoy time together outside our regular focus on dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline. The event offered a meaningful way to recharge and bond, setting the stage for the impactful work that followed.

Since then, our members have embarked on a powerful "photo voice" project. Using photography as a medium for expression, they are exploring two vital questions: What does a safe and supportive school environment look like to you? and How does the school-to-prison pipeline shape your success? Together, we’re crafting an album with captions that authentically capture their lived experiences, bringing to light the real impacts of the school-to-prison pipeline from those most affected. This project not only strengthens our members' voices but also helps others see the urgent need for change through their perspectives.

EdLaw staff have been successful in obtaining special education services for over a dozen students who are confined in county jails. In addition to individual work, which has allowed students in jails to complete their high school education, EdLaw attorneys, working the Mental Health Legal Advocacy Committee and pro bono attorneys at Latham & Watkins have filed a class action lawsuit challenging the failure of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to assure that these students receive a full special education program.

Ella's Story

"Ella" is a 14 year old who loves horses and art. She was court-involved solely because she struggled to attend school. Ever since the post-pandemic return to school, Ella would sometimes go months at a time without going to school, and when she did go, she couldn't make it past the front office. Staff at her school repeatedly just called 911 when she had these breakdowns. Sometimes she would go the emergency room and her mom would pick her up, and other times, the emergency room would hospitalize her. Either way, she wasn't learning, making friends, or forming relationships with teachers.

We were able to negotiate a small, therapeutic placement for her where she had additional evaluations done. These evaluations diagnosed her with autism and severe anxiety, and recommended many interventions that school staff were able to quickly implement. Ella stayed at the therapeutic day school, and in June 2024, she made the honor roll. She participated in the school talent show this fall, and so far this school year, she has missed only two days of school (due to illness). This intervention now means the court case is dropped, and she is able to focus on what matters: making friends, going to school, and being a kid.

EdLaw Attorney, Tim Sindelar, featured in Boston Globe

in article on Seclusion in Massachusetts Schools

September 4th’s Boston Globe discussed the use of "timeout rooms" in Massachusetts' special education schools. Parents assert that these rooms are in fact seclusion spaces, prohibited by state regulations. Perry Baker discovered her son Ezra, who has multiple disabilities, was confined in a small room at his school, which led to aggressive behavior and trauma. Other parents reported similar distressing experiences for their children, including being placed in small, enclosed spaces.

EdLaw attorney, Tim Sindelar argues that exclusionary timeouts should be banned, stating, "We’ve seen too many kids have a natural reaction to being confined in a small space that they can’t leave... and then carry the scars of the trauma for the rest of their lives." While schools claim these spaces are used as part of behavioral support strategies, there is growing concern over the lack of oversight and the need for better regulations to ensure the safety and well-being of vulnerable students.

To read the full article, please visit: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/09/05/metro/massachusetts-special-education-seclusion-timeout-rooms/

In addition to money raised through our annual appeal and annual event, we rely on grants from Charitable Foundations to support the work we do. Here is a summary of the grant funding we received in the 1st quarter of FY25.

Boston Bar Foundation

Each year, the Boston Bar Foundation distributes over $1 million in grants to legal services organizations in the Greater Boston area that serve the needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized members of our community. In August of 2024, we learned that YAF is one of 44 organizations awarded a grant for the 2024-2025 cycle. We are so grateful for the Boston Bar Foundation’s continued commitment to facilitate access to legal counsel and essential needs in underserved communities.

Cummings Foundation

In September we learned that YAF was the recipient of a $25,000 award as part of their Make a Difference Dollars (MAD$) program! The MAD$ program invites the Cummings Foundation Site Visits Committee volunteers to nominate organizations they have visited for additional funds. The volunteers that visited us in May of 2024 nominated us and we were selected! We are so grateful for the Cummings Foundation and this extra support!

John W. Alden Trust

Also in September, YAF was awarded a $20,000 grant from the John W. Alden Foundation. The Alden Trust provides support to organizations serving children and youth (ages 0-24) with physical, mental, or intellectual disabilities; and to organizations engaged in research focused on the prevention or cure of diseases and disabilities affecting children. This was our first time applying to this foundation and we are thrilled to be one of their 2024 grantees!

A sincere thank you to all of our supporters!

For information on how you can support our cause,

check out our website here!

We have many clients who are being represented by members of our pro bono panel. This quarter we’d like to highlight a firm's help with EdLaw's class action lawsuit and two of their successful cases.

Thank you Kenneth Parsigian, Allison Carbonaro and Matthew Duffy of Latham & Watkins for filing a class action challenging the failure of the state to provide special education services to young adults confined in County Houses of Correction.

Thank you Christopher Lloyd and Samual Townsend of Latham & Watkins for representing a student with emotional and learning disabilities who Latham attorneys have represented over four years. Initially they helped secure a residential placement for the student and just this year they secured a day placement, so the student could go home. They also secured specialized language-based tutoring for this student.

And last, but certainly not least, we want to thank the team of Priyanka Krishnamurthy, Avery Boreliz and Annabel Kupke of Latham & Watkins for representing a second grade student to secure his eligibility for special education and many services to meet his learning, speech, and social needs.

At YAF, we are incredibly appreciative to attorneys like Kenneth, Allison, Matthew, Christopher, Samual, Priyanka, Avery and Annabel, who put in extra hours beyond their regular workload to represent families who call us for help that we do not have the capacity to represent.

EdLaw is part of a working group with the Disability Law Center, Massachusetts Advocates for Children, Parent Professional Advocacy League, the Federation for Children with Special Needs and the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress working to stop abuses of the use of exclusionary time out. This coalition has been successful in working with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. DESE has issued a guidance to school districts encouraging them to limit the use of time out rooms and has developed a grant program for schools to have funds to hire trainers that can help teachers and others develop more positive behavioral strategies and avoid the use of time out rooms. The coalition held a webinar in May 2024 that was attended by more than 200 teachers, parents and advocates. As a result of this advocacy, DESE is preparing amendments to the current regulations on the use of restraint and seclusion that will substantially reduce the practice of placing students into time out rooms.

Meet Our Fall Interns

Every semester, YAF is fortunate to attract talented legal interns to support the attorneys of the EdLaw Project, as well as an undergraduate intern to support YAF development and operations staff. This fall was no exception.

Cora Kim, 2L, Harvard Law School
Marissa Amen, 2L, Northeastern University's School of Law
Assia Hamana, Senior, Brandeis University

Cora Kim

EdLaw Legal Intern

Cora is a 2L at Harvard Law School. She is interested in providing direct legal services and working with children and wanted to intern with EdLaw in order to have the chance to advocate for the educational rights and success of young people.

Fun Fact: "I like going for long bike rides and watching bike races."

Marissa Amen

EdLaw Legal Intern

Marissa, a 2L at Northeastern University School of Law, entered law school committed to disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline by ensuring students with disabilities receive comprehensive support in school. She believes young people should be kept out of court and in schools with access to quality educational services. "When I learned about the incredible work EdLaw does, knew it was a natural fit!"

Fun Fact: “I am on level 5,307 in Candy Crush!”

Assia Haman

YAF Development Intern

Assia is a senior at Brandeis University, studying International Relations and Global Studies with a focus on Law, Justice, and Human Rights. She is also pursuing minors in Legal Studies and African & African American Studies. Her passion lies in human rights, as well as refugee and immigration issues, and she is deeply interested in all areas of advocacy. "I applied to YAF and EdLaw because their missions align closely with my own values, particularly in their dedication to empowering and protecting vulnerable youth. Their commitment to justice and advocacy resonates with my desire to support those who feel their voices and struggles are often unheard."

Fun Fact: “I love to travel and am always up for planning the next adventure!”

EdLaw Training Quarter 1

An important part of what we do is to train other youth-supporting attorneys in education advocacy so that they can support their clients in the classroom as well as the courtroom. The summer is a slow time for trainings, but we did 2 trainings for 33 people in the first quarter of FY25.

The first training was done by EdLaw Senior Counsel, Tim Sindelar, who presented to special education advocates on discipline alternatives to suspension or expulsion. This session focused on the harms of school discipline and how to advocate for creative approaches instead.

The second was in mid-September, when Marlies Spanjaard led an impactful session with YAD Social Service Advocates at the CPCS office in Worcester. Through this presentation, participants gained invaluable insights into essential topics like school stability, Child Requiring Assistance (CRA) cases, Special Education, and school discipline. This session underscored the vital role educational advocacy plays in supporting our clients' success, equipping advocates with the knowledge needed to navigate complex school systems and protect the educational rights of vulnerable students. It was a powerful reminder of how understanding these issues strengthens our advocacy work and leads to better outcomes for the youth and families we serve

In addition to the above, Edlaw Senior Counsel, Tim Sindelar and SEAM mentor Marianne Brown have provided two trainings to attorneys working in the Juvenile Court in Middlesex County on the new IEP form and have a third training on discipline planned in November.

We hope you have enjoyed reading our quarterly newsletter. More exciting things are coming this winter and in the new year!

Lastly, we have secured the date and time for our 24th Annual Spring Celebration! Please Save the Date for this spectacular annual event. It will be held on Friday, May 16, 2025, at The Charles Hotel from 6-9 pm. More information to follow later this year!