Systemic Advocacy

SJP’s Systemic Advocacy & Policy program uses education legal advocacy strategies to dismantle the pipeline funneling youth of color from the juvenile legal system into the criminal system. SJP attorneys do this by coalition-building, policy drafting, and other high-impact legal strategies. The recurring issues identified in our Direct Representation program are the drivers for our systemic priorities in our Systemic Advocacy program. We work with policymakers, school districts, community organizations and other key stakeholders to simultaneously increase educational equity and decrease the use of mass incarceration, both of which contribute to building a more racially just community. SJP litigates on behalf of our clients to file systemic lawsuits to address the educational issues of young people involved in the criminal or juvenile legal systems.

  • SJP, along with co-counsel at Washington Lawyers’ Committee and the law firm of Terris, Pravlik and Millian LLP, brought a systemic class action case against DC for its failure to provide special education to students incarcerated at the DC Jail during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more.

  • Barnes v. DC et. al is a class action case brought against DC and the Federal BOP for their failures to provide special education to DC residents entitled to special education and the failure to make education available, respectively. Learn more.

  • SJP works to advance our systemic priorities through legislative and regulatory efforts within the District of Columbia. Learn more.

  • SJP builds coalitions with justice and education partners around education, criminal and juvenile legal issues. We also collaborate with government agencies and youth-serving organizations to identify the barriers and service gaps for older students with special education needs.

    • Special Education Attorney Roundtable (SEAR), Chair

    • Special Education Advocacy Coalition (SEAC), Chair

    • DC Family Court Education Working Group (CEWG), Juvenile Justice Subcommittee, Chair

    • Thrive Under 25 (Prior Chair)

    • Students in the Care of DC Coordinating Committee

    • DC Family Court Conference Planning Committee

    • Every Student Every Day (ESED)

    • Youth Justice Project (YJP)

    • Secondary Transition Community of Practice

    • DC Legal Services Consortium

    • DC Legal Aid Transformation Network

    • DC Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH)

    • DC Reentry Action Network

    • Fair Budget Coalition

    • District Task Force on Jails and Justice

To learn more about SJP’s systemic advocacy, check out our current priorities.

Current Priorities