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 THE
PUBLIC INTEREST LAW CENTER OF PHILADELPHIA
Affiliated with the
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
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Support the Law Center today!
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Law Center counts on donors like you to be able to provide exceptional
services to our clients. Please join us in our efforts by making a
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Letter
from the Executive Director
Two major reports within the last month make the same point: African
American and Latino boys are dropping out in horrifying numbers from
our public schools; numbers hover around 50% depending on the report
and the district. Here at the Law Center, we are combining our
deep expertise in both public education and special education to take
on this critical issue. We see, over and over again, the same
pattern: minority children early on face low expectations, being placed
in separate special education classes or courses with below grade
content, even if they test at average to above-average intelligence.
It should come as no surprise that they become bored and
disaffected. Children who are difficult to educate or different
are pushed out through various strategies. Children who do need
special education services don't get them; or get them in segregated
classrooms. And when you combine that with the fact that many children
attend schools with inexperienced teachers, few resources and face
crises at home, the challenge to provide a rich, deeply engaging
education becomes more urgent.
At the end of the month, we will be convening a
symposium of national experts to address this most pressing issue, the
civil rights issue of today. Please read more below and then join
us to participate and to honor Governor Rendell, Donna Cooper and Judge
Doris Smith-Ribner, each of whom has contributed immeasurably to the
quality of public education.
In this month's newsletter, we also tell some of the
stories of the many children whom we represent and whose cases are part
of a larger strategy to create a sense of urgency and change.
Each of you is an important part of this work: we need you to become
informed, perhaps outraged, and use that sense of outrage to demand a transformation.
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 On September 30, 2010 the Law Center presents our 3rd
Annual Symposium "A Quality
Education for All - The Uses of Law to Translate Theory into
Practice", an in-depth look at
the laws and policies that impact the quality of public education and
how we ensure that those laws help, not hurt, a child's opportunity to
receive a high quality
education. Following the symposium join us for a
Cocktail and Dinner reception as we present The Thaddeus
Stevens Award to Governor
Edward G. Rendell, Secretary of Policy and Planning Donna Cooper and
the Honorable Doris Smith-Ribner in recognition
of their extraordinary work to advance the quality of public
education in our region.
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Law Center's Sonja Kerr
Argues Before Alaska Supreme Court
 On September 14, the Law Center's Director of
Disability Projects, Sonja Kerr, argued before the Alaska
Supreme Court. This was the first time that any lawyer argued
a special education matter before the Alaska Supreme Court on behalf of
a student. Her arguments were televised on a local TV show called
Gavel to Gavel Alaska and streaming video will
be available via the show's website. Two cases were heard.
First, P.P. v. Anchorage School District concerns the responsibility of
school districts to timely identify and evaluate students. Second,
M.P. v. Anchorage School District will be heard concerning M.P., a
student of elementary age who has autism. At right, one of the children
represented by Sonja in Alaska. More...
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Law Center
Speaks Out Against "Pennhurst Asylum"  Haunted Attraction
Lack of resources led to neglect and abuse of
developmentally disabled residents of the Pennhurst State School
and Hospital until The Law Center helped to close the institution in
1987. The abandoned property is now owned by a private
developer looking to capitalize on its tragic legacy by turning
it into a Halloween attraction beginning on September 24th. The Law
Center has joined a chorus of concerned individuals and organizations
speaking out against this travesty. "To use this place as a place
of entertainment, even if you completely change the story is
wrong," said Law Center Executive Director Jennifer Clarke.
At right, a protester's sign at a rally on September 10 at Liberty
Resources in Philadelphia. More...
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Update on Blunt:Additional
Due Process Hearings Against LMSD
The Law Center continues its vigorous
representation on behalf of 500 African American students within
the Lower Merion School District. Currently, the Law Center has
six due process cases pending against the LMSD, all on behalf of
African American students. The cases are scheduled for hearings in
September, 2010. Read
more about the individual cases below...
Student v.
LMSD: Hearing Officer Orders Direct Help and Compensatory Services
On
March 11, 2010, Pennsylvania Hearing Officer Anne Carroll issued a
decision in a special education hearing case against the Lower Merion
School District in which she concluded that the LMSD had denied J.W., a
free appropriate public education. More...
Federal Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Case
Againist Lower Merion School District Concerning Right to Hearing: S.L.
v. Lower Merion
Federal District
Court Judge Legrome D. Davis has refused to dismiss the claims of S.L.,
a high school student, against the Lower Merion School District, and
instead ordered additional briefing on the hearing officer's dismissal
of the parents' hearing request. More...
Student v. LMSD: Settlement for Private School and Fees for
Middle Schooler with Dyslexia
Student M.J. was
a very bright middle schooler with sorely deficient reading
skills. After a thorough independent educational evaluation, it became
clear that the student has dyslexia, a specific type of learning
disability. More...
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Settlement
Grants Additional Services To Student, Helps Raise Parent Awareness Of
Services For Students 18 And Older
August 21, 2010 -- The Law Center is pleased to announce
resolution of a special education due process hearing concerning M.Y.,
a 21 year old young man who has specific learning disabilities. The Law
Center represented the family of M.Y. which filed the hearing because
of concerns that M.Y. had not been accurately identified and had not
received proper services. The Philadelphia School District immediately
agreed to have M.Y. re-evaluated at the District's expense. More...
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DOJ Official
Affirms Department's Continued Focus on Enforcing Olmstead and ADA
 On August 9, 2010, Sam Bagenstos,
Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice,
delivered the keynote address at the Reinventing Quality Conference in
Baltimore, MD. Mr. Bagenstos resoundingly affirmed the Department's
continuing focus on enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act
and the Olmstead decision which form the legal basis for ensuring the
rights of people with disabilities to live and receive services in the
community rather than being segregated in large institutions. A video of the entire
speech is available online, courtesy of Mark Friedman, a longtime
advocate for people with disabilities.
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Connecticut
Deinstitutionalization Case Settles After 16 Years; 450
Remaining Residents Have Chance to Move to the Community
16 years after it was first filed, Messier v. Southbury
Training School, a class action lawsuit that sought to end the
segregation of residents in a large, state-run facility in
Connecticut because of their disabilities, settled with a
favorable outcome for the remaining 450 residents who will now receive
independent evaluations to determine if they are suited for community
placement, and have the option to leave the institution if they wish. More....
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Lincoln
University Students and Chester County Residents Settle Lawsuit
Charging Racial Discrimination in 2008 Election
 August 10, 2010 - Lincoln University students and
Chester County residents have settled their federal lawsuit in which
they alleged that the Chester County Board of Elections and Department
of Voter Services deprived African-Americans in Lower Oxford East
Township of their right to vote by assigning them to inconvenient and
inadequate polling facilities. More...
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Decade-Old
Conviction for Minor Charge No Longer an Employment Barrier for Law
Center Client
As the number of people who are incarcerated skyrockets,
a similarly large number of people find themselves, after serving their
sentences, unable to find work. Although the crime may bear no
relationship to the job, employers find it convenient to use a conviction
as an automatic bar from employment. This violates Pennsylvania
law and The Law Center is addressing this serious barrier to employment
by representing individuals who have been denied a job or a license or
a home solely because of an old and irrelevant prior conviction. In one
recent case, the Law Center assisted our client, in securing his
teaching certificate from the Pennsylvania Department of
Education. More...
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Two Recent
Grants Support Education Funding and Quality Project
 The Law Center recently received renewed funding from
the William Penn Foundation and from the United Way of Southeast
Pennsylvania Community Impact Fund to support our continued work in
monitoring and enforcing the provisions of the Philadelphia School Desegregation
Case Settlement Agreement approved last summer by the Honorable Doris
A. Smith-Ribner. We are extremely grateful to both organizations
for their support.
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Law Center
Attorney Testifies Before the EPA Regarding Potentially Harmful
Emissions Rule Change
 August 27, 2010 - Law Center attorney Adam Cutler
offered testimony to the EPA in connection with a proposed new rule
requiring further reductions in the emissions of sulfur dioxide and
nitrous oxide. He points out that provisions that permit companies to
trade allowances will likely result in continuing pollution in low
income communities, where negative health consequences from living near
industrial facilities are greatest. Read the testimony..
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Meet our new
Environmental Health and Justice Clinic Students
 The Law Center's Public
Health and Environmental Justice Clinic, a partnership with Drexel's
Earle Mack School of Law, has entered its third year, welcoming 5 new
clinic students this month. From left to right, students Patty
Luczak, Kaitlin Weaver, Joe Levin, John McGlaughlin (and Han
Meadway, not pictured) will assist clinic director Adam Cutler
throughout the 2010-2011 school year in providing legal advice and
assistance to to local communities of color and poverty that seek
to overcome the disproportionate burdens of environmental impacts. More about the
clinic....
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September is a Busy
Month! Join Us at These Events:
"Ask
Absolutely Anything" Education Public Information Sessions
When: Fridays, September
17 and 24, 2-6 pm
Where: 92
Greenfield Avenue, Ardmore, PA
Hosted
by:
Concerned Black Parents of Ardmore, PA
What:
The Law Center is offering a series of Public Information Sessions to
respond to questions from Lower Merion students and their families on
general and special education issues. More...
Mt. Airy Village Fair 2010
When:
Sunday, September 26, 2010, 12 -4 pm
Where:
Greene Street and Carpenter Lane, Mt. Airy
What: "FREE" village
fair is gearing up for another fun filled day of music, local
crafts, games and so much more. The Law Center will have a booth at the
fair - come by and see us!
"Early Intervention and
Inclusion" CLE/Training Session
When:
September 28, 2010, 12 - 4pm
Where:
United Way Building, 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA
19103
What:
The third in a series of training and CLE sessions for parents,
attorneys, educators and advocates of kids with disabilities, hosted by
the Law Center's Sonja Kerr.
Online registration is NOW OPEN |
View yearlong
calendar of training sessions.
The Law Center's 3rd Annual Symposium
on Equality & Thaddeus Stevens Award Dinner
When:
Thursday, September 30, 2010, 8:30am-4:30pm and 5:00-9:00pm
Where:
the Symposium will take place at the Arch Street Meeting House, 4th and
Arch Streets, followed by a reception at the Down Town Club, 6th and
Chestnut Streets.
What: This
year's symposium will focus on Education and how we can make access to
a quality education a reality for all children. More Information |
REGISTER ONLINE
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The Public Interest
Law Center of Philadelphia is dedicated to advancing the Constitutional
promise of equal citizenship to all persons irrespective of race,
ethnicity, national origin, disability, gender or poverty. We use public
education, continuing education of our clients and client organizations,
research, negotiation and, when necessary, the courts to achieve systemic
reforms that advance the central goals of self-advocacy, social justice
and equal protection of the law for all members of society. www.pilcop.org
The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia is a
registered charitable organization. A copy of the official registration
may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll
free within Pennsylvania 1.800.732.0999. Registration does not imply
endorsement.
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