From the Frontline
Why We Fight: A Letter from SDA's Co-Executive Director Elie
At Student Defense Alliance, we believe every student deserves the chance to learn, grow, and be treated with dignity, no matter their background, their disability, or if a hard day led to a bad decision. This month, we're sharing a personal message from one of our Co-Executive Directors about why that belief drives everything we do.
A Message From Our Co-Executive Director Elie
A ten-year-old can't get to school because her school won't provide accessible transportation, and now the school has filed truancy charges against her. A fifteen-year-old whose father gave her brass knuckles to protect herself walking home from the bus stop, because he couldn't pick her up and feared for her safety, now faces expulsion for having them at school. A sixteen-year-old faces indefinite exclusion from school over a "safety risk" tied to his brother's alleged firearm possession, even though the district attorney dropped the charges because his brother never possessed a firearm at all.
Unfortunately, we know there are countless young people trying to form their identities, make sense of their world, and process the traumas of their lives, only to encounter punishment and alienation from their education instead of support. We've worked with many of them. The school-to-prison pipeline disproportionately impacts and targets students of color and students with disabilities. Too often, our educational systems punish and discriminate rather than understand, and dehumanize and adultify young people rather than support them.
This is why I'm thrilled to step into the role of Co-Executive Director of Student Defense Alliance. This role is an opportunity to continue work I've been part of for the past decade. I believe firmly in bringing to fruition the promise of education for every student, and I believe our education and legal systems have foreclosed that promise for many students because of bias and prejudice: racism, ableism, and a failure to acknowledge how adolescent brain development shapes decision-making, to name just a few.
I cannot, have not, and will not stand for an education system that denies students opportunity because of their identity, a bad choice, or the biases of adults in positions of power. Teaching, before law school, is what drove me to become an advocate against the school-to-prison pipeline. My experiences in law school drove me to start a law firm fighting harsh school discipline and discrimination, and to make sure legal advocacy and education are accessible to every family, regardless of financial means.
Thank you for trusting me to continue this work after fifteen years in this fight, and thank you for joining us in it at SDA.
What Standing Up Looks Like
Did you know every student facing expulsion in the state of Colorado has rights, including the right to bring an attorney of their choosing to an expulsion hearing, under Colo. Rev. Stat. 22-33-105.
Stories like these aren't outliers. They're what happens when systems built to protect students end up punishing them instead. At SDA, this is where our work begins.
When a family calls us facing a truancy charge, a discipline hearing, or an unfair exclusion, our team steps in beside them. We listen first. We dig into the facts. And we advocate, in meetings, in hearings, and in the systems themselves, so a student's future isn't decided by fear, misunderstanding, or bias.
No family should have to navigate this alone, and because of your support, they don't have to.
Ways You Can Stand With Us
Every student's voice matters, and there are a few ways you can help make sure it's heard this month:
Give. A gift of any size helps us take on more cases like the ones above. Donate at studentdefensealliance.com/donate.
Share. Forward this email to someone who cares about student rights, or share it on social media. The more people who know this work exists, the more students we can reach.
Connect. Know a family who needs support, or a student facing unfair discipline? Reach out to us directly — we're here to help. Thank you for being part of this fight with us.
With gratitude, The Student Defense Alliance Team
Empowering Student Voices: Because Every Student's Voice Matters
Comments