Special Education Panel Attorneys for Emerging Adult Defendants in DC Superior Court

Many young people in DC’s adult criminal proceedings have special education needs and have not yet earned their high school diploma or GED. Federal special education law guarantees students with disabilities access to special education services and in DC, that right extends through age 22. However, older, court-involved students are routinely denied education and the legal assistance to enforce their rights. Further, because of agency silos, judges often do not receive accurate information about an older student’s education history, needs, and disability. As a result, older students with disabilities are largely misunderstood and underserved. This leads to a further denial of education and school pushout.

  • Having access to a special education attorney can mitigate a young person’s court outcome. For years, SJP has worked to expand access to education attorneys in DC’s criminal legal system. Education attorneys contribute to the efficiency of the judicial process, provide critical information to assist judges in reaching more informed decisions, and lead to more just outcomes for young people.

    In 2022, the DC Council passed DC Code § 16–714, which directed the Superior Court of DC to establish a panel of special education attorneys for its Criminal Division. This panel allows judges to appoint education lawyers for “emerging adults” with disabilities who otherwise would not have access to enforcement of their special education rights. While a special education panel does exist in Family Court, these attorneys had not been previously appointed in criminal proceedings. This landmark law closed the gap and is the first of its kind nationwide.

    In September 2023, DC Super. Ct. Admin. Order No. 23-21 established the “Special Education Panel Attorneys for Emerging Adult Defendants” in the Criminal Division. SJP leads this effort through trainings of special education panel attorneys to provide representation to older, court-involved students with disabilities. The panel improves access to education, reduces court contacts, and improves life outcomes for the clients served by those on the panel.

    Since the panel’s implementation, SJP has trained special education panel attorneys, criminal defense attorneys, pro bono attorneys, DC Superior Court judges, and other system actors about the panel’s work, goals, and how to provide special education representation to this population of students. To further expand the panel, SJP will continue to train new panel members, co-counsel cases with pro bono attorneys, and provide representation of young people in DC’s criminal legal system.

    For more information on trainings or pro bono partnerships to support the panel, please contact us at info@sjpdc.org.

“Education representation is critical for ensuring access to education for court-involved young people. ... Education attorneys contribute to judicial efficiency by providing youth-specific information to assist judges and other judicial officers in reaching a more informed decision.”

- SJP testimony at the Special Education Panel hearing (July 2019)

  • The Special Education Panel Act was introduced on February 16, 2021. For more information, see the introduced bill and related items.

  • The Superior Court of the District of Columbia issued Administrative Order 23-21 establishing the Panel. For more information, see the Order.

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