RALEIGH — Campbell Law School students enrolled in the Richardson Family Education Equity Clinic (EEC) this semester are working with the Wake County Juvenile Public Defender to protect 14-year-old children from probation and public education. He successfully argued to keep his position at the school.
According to Clinic Director Lisa Lucas, Tilson Gitter ’25 and Hannah Brown ’25 represent the child in connection with an ongoing civil rights claim arising from the child’s experience in public school. He is said to be working. Through their arguments, they recognized that a violation of their client’s educational rights under federal law caused him to miss school and jeopardized his status on probation in juvenile court.
“Tilson drafted a memo to the juvenile court, and Tilson and Hanna met together with the juvenile court counselor to explain their position,” Lukasik explained. “They established that the child’s absence from school, which was the focus of the probation review, was the direct result of a violation of their client’s educational rights, rather than willful neglect on the part of the child. The juvenile court dismissed the probation violation.”
Following his successful intervention in child probation hearings, Mr. Ritter, who has also successfully represented clients in public school-based proceedings, emphasized:
“It was an invaluable experience to represent my client and see the direct link between the school’s failure to protect his educational rights and his probation position. By proving that, we were able to shift our focus from punishment to support. It was very rewarding to be able to help secure his future and ensure he had the opportunity to stay in school and succeed. There is.”
Reflecting further on the impact of his work at the EEC, Brown said:
“Participating in Professor Lukasik and Professor (Jen) Storey’s Educational Equity Clinic was one of the most meaningful experiences of my law school career. , what I like about the clinic is that it is completely based in reality.The clinic has given me the opportunity to build relationships with local families and serve children directly. Through this experience, I was able to apply the IDEA knowledge I gained from Professor Lukasik’s special education law course, while also improving my legal research, writing, and client counseling skills. I am doing real, meaningful work that will definitely have a positive impact on the lives of Wake County students. This is an enriching experience that I would recommend to my classmates who are looking for hands-on experience in education law. .”
Mr. Lukasik praised the work of Mr. Gitter and Mr. Brown, saying, “They leveraged their strong voices, excellent written and verbal advocacy skills, and deep awareness of their clients’ federal educational rights to work hard in a short period of time.” I couldn’t be more proud of these outstanding students for their hard work.” This legislation will have a tremendous positive impact on the lives of these children and on the hearts of all who witnessed their great work. ”
The story contextualizes the importance of the students’ hard work, saying: Tilson and Hanna will build a strong foundation that will benefit other youth caught up in the juvenile system by educating the juvenile court system about the educational rights of students and changing the lens through which courts view client behavior. I built it. In this way, they not only helped change the trajectory of their clients’ journeys within the education system and juvenile court system, but also served as a critical component in disrupting Wake County’s broader “school-to-prison pipeline.” He took measures. ”
Mr. Lukasik continued, “Ultimately, we are grateful for the inspiration provided to us through the Richardson Family as we celebrate the positive impact our students are making in the lives of the children we serve. We are still very grateful to them and we continue to do our work by following their example.”
For more information about the clinic, please see this link.
About Campbell Law School
Since its founding in 1976, Campbell Law Firm has developed lawyers with moral conviction, social compassion, and professional competence who view the law as a calling to serve others. The school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the best professionalism program in the nation and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers as having the best trial advocacy program in the nation. Campbell Law University has nearly 5,000 alumni and locations in nearly all 50 states and beyond. In 2024, Campbell Law will celebrate 45 years of graduating legal leaders and 15 years of being based in a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of North Carolina’s capital city.
