Watch Our “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” Education Report Webinar Recap

We’ve had a full week here at Youth Law Center and are grateful to you for your engagement and support, enabling our fight for the rights of children and youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems across the country. Out of Sight, Out of Mind  Webinar Recap We hosted a webinar for our Out […]

Youth Law Center advocacy results in additional California funding to increase education access for juvenile justice involved youth

The Youth Law Center’s advocacy resulted in the new 2023-2024 California State budget requirement that all county probation departments offer in-person or online college courses in youth detention facilities. This expands upon a $15 million annual investment into community college programs for detained youth included in last year’s budget. Providing youth in the juvenile justice system with […]

YLC and Project Change Celebrate Budget Victory for Students

YLC and the Project Change Program at the College of San Mateo recently hosted an event to celebrate joint advocacy that has resulted in $15 million in California ongoing state funds to allow expansion of community college programs like Project Change that support post-secondary success of students impacted by the juvenile justice system.  The state […]

YLC Reissues Report “Closing the Extracurriculars Gap”

Three years ago the Youth Law Center first issued the publication “Closing the Extracurriculars Gap: Prioritizing Extracurricular Activities as a Key Intervention for Children and Youth in Foster Care and Juvenile Justice” to make the case for action to ensure that young people in foster care have meaningful access to extracurricular and enrichment activities. YLC […]

YLC celebrates new scholarship with Iranian American Women Foundation

YLC is thrilled to congratulate and celebrate the winner of this year’s Iranian American Women Foundation‘s Youth Law Center scholarship! Golnaz Zamiri, the winner of this year’s scholarship, is a student at University of Connecticut and a deserving young woman studying human development and family studies and a future human rights leader. We are grateful […]

YLC sponsoring AB 103 – Dual Enrollment for Court School Students

YLC is proud to sponsor AB 103 (Holden), which will clarify the law to improve access to dual enrollment classes for youth in court and alternative schools. Current law is unclear as to whether County Offices of Education, which run court schools, can participate in College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) dual enrollment partnerships. AB […]

Congress passes legislation that will make it easier for students to get financial aid!

Congress has passed legislation that will greatly simplify the financial aid application process by 2023, with specific benefits for youth with prior involvement in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Changes include: Shortening and simplifying the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Removing the requirement that students register for selective service in order […]

Financial Aid Guide for Youth with Juvenile Justice Involvement

As part of our ongoing work to create Pathways to Higher Education for youth with juvenile justice involvement, the Youth Law Center has created a new financial aid resource that we hope will be useful to youth, policy advocates, and a wide range of juvenile justice and child welfare system stakeholders. College is For Everyone: […]

YLC joins coalition advocating for vulnerable students during COVID-19 and beyond

Youth Law Center has partnered with fellow statewide advocacy organizations to create policy recommendations and coordinated Bay Area advocates to push County Offices of Education and school districts to adopt equitable practices, with the goal of furthering our work to end the school-to-prison pipeline. System-involved students are particularly vulnerable during this global health crisis and […]

Youth in juvenile facilities eligible for Cal Grant funding

For the first time, the California Student Aid Commission will be sharing that youth in juvenile facilities across the state of CA can get financial aid for college. Yesterday, CSAC updated their Cal Grant Handbook, an important tool used by teachers, counselors, and administrators, to say that youth in juvenile facilities who are under the jurisdiction of […]

YLC presents to State Community College Chancelor’s Office Advisory Committee

Yesterday, YLC staff and students from Project Change presented to the State Community College Chancellor’s Office Advisory Committee on the need to include youth with juvenile justice involvement in higher education. We are so grateful to have this partnership with project Change and are grateful for the vision and leadership of their students.  

Fact sheets on two juvenile justice education bills signed into law in CA

These fact sheets provide basic information about Senate Bill 716 and Assembly Bill 1354 both signed into law in 2019 and effective on January 1, 2020. The SB 716 fact sheet describes which youth are eligible for online college courses, what programs are available, and who is responsible for providing them. The AB 1354 fact […]

CA Academic Senate passes resolution to include juvenile justice-involved youth in equity plans

Last week, the California Community College State Academic Senate Committee passed a resolution to include youth with juvenile justice involvement in the state’s list of designated populations to be served by community college equity funds. This change means that the Academic Senate Committee supports community colleges including juvenile justice involved youth in their equity plans […]

Breaking News: California Governor signs two YLC-sponsored bills to promote educational opportunity for juvenile justice impacted youth!

Last week, California’s Governor Newsom signed into law two Youth Law Center-sponsored bills, ensuring improved access to education opportunities for youth involved with the juvenile justice system. These policy changes support Youth Law Center’s ongoing work in California to strengthen education opportunities for all system-impacted youth and to build alternatives to youth incarceration. Keep reading for more […]

2nd Annual Pathways to Higher Education conference a huge success!

Thank you to everyone who joined us the for the second annual Creating Pathways from Youth Incarceration to Higher Education statewide conference! Our 200+ conference attendees from 24 California counties included local, state, and federal policy makers, probation and higher education leadership and staff, community based organizations, students, foundations, and more. Participants learned from each […]

2019 Pathways to Higher Education Statewide Conference program

Youth Law Center is excited to share the program for the 2019 Creating Pathways from Youth Incarceration to Higher Education statewide conference! This year’s event will feature opening remarks from Dr. Monte Perez, President, LA Mission College; Hon. Tony Cárdenas, US House of Representatives, 29th District; Hon. Luz Rivas, California Assembly Member, 39th District; Terri McDonald, […]

YLC, Project Change, SB 716 featured in KQED article

We are so grateful to KQED and reporter Vanessa Rancaño for featuring YLC’s efforts to increase post-secondary opportunities for juvenile justice involved youth, Senate Bill 716, and the life-changing work of our partners at Project Change. Click here to read/listen to the full story! “We have to remember that these are children, these are young people,” says Lucy Salcido […]

CA Assembly Bill 1354 (Gipson) moves to Assembly floor for floor vote!

California Assembly Bill 1354, which will provide oversight of education transitions for youth leaving juvenile facilities to return to their communities, came off the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file on May 16, 2019 and is moving to the Assembly floor for a floor vote.

YLC working on costs concerns related to CA Senate Bill 716

Youth Law Center has been working closely with Democratic State Senator Holly Mitchell’s office, the University of California Office of the President, and the California State University Office of the Chancellor to address concerns the UCs and CSUs had about implementation costs associated with California Senate Bill 716 (Mitchell) should it become law.

SB716 Gains Support!

A state senate bill to ensure postsecondary education opportunities for high school graduates in juvenile custody gained strong bipartisan support and a 7-0 vote in the California Senate Public Safety Committee on April 9, 2019.

Bill Signed to Remove Graduation Barriers for At-Risk Youth

On September 22, 2016, Governor Brown signed into law AB 2306 by Assemblyman Jim Frazier, which requires school districts to exempt a student from local high school graduation requirements once the student transfers to the district from a juvenile court school. It also clarifies that pupils in juvenile court schools have a rigorous curriculum that […]

YLC asks Court to Depublish Opinion in Ivan N.

YLC filed a request with the California Supreme Court to depublish In re Ivan N, a recently issued California Court of Appeal opinion holding that foster youth education rights do not apply to probation supervised foster youth.  The court badly misinterpreted several statutory provisions that are critical in ensuring that probation-supervised foster youth are treated equitably and […]

YLC Writes Amicus Letter to Support Right to Quality Education

YLC filed a letter in support of the Petition for Review in two cases that were consolidated for appeal, Campaign for Quality Education v. State of California and Robles-Wong v. State of California.  The cases present a core question particularly important to court involved youth – whether the fundamental right to education under the California […]

Youth Law Center Co-Sponsors Court School Forum

On Tuesday, July 12, 2016, Youth Law Center is co-sponsoring a forum on education for youth in the juvenile justice system.  The event entitled, “Education Reform’s Missed Opportunity: Young People in California’s Court Schools,” will address the failure of the juvenile justice system to meet the educational needs of kids in their care. Jennifer Rodriguez […]

Schools in Juvenile Justice Get an “F”

New America Media recently posted an article about the failure of California’s juvenile court schools to educate youth in their care.  The article cited Youth Law Center’s 2016 study “Educational Injustice: Barriers to Achievement and Higher Education for Youth in California’s Juvenile Court Schools,” which reported that juvenile court schools have very poor outcomes for […]

Governor Signs SB 1111 Ensuring Educational Placement Rights

On September 29, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1111 (Lara), a comprehensive bill that addresses the transfer rights of students referred to county community schools, makes the statute consistent with state and federal laws governing the educational placement rights of foster care and homeless youth, and closes an existing loophole in the discipline code […]

No Time for False Choices – Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 14, 2012 CONTACT: Rebecca Vallas, Staff Attorney/Policy Advocate Community Legal Services E-mail:  rvallas@clsphila.org Phone: 215-981-3797 NO TIME FOR FALSE CHOICES Low-Income Children with Disabilities Need Both Economic Security and Vital Services Supplemental Security Income Must Be Preserved The undersigned organizations are concerned that Nicholas Kristof’s December 7 New York Times op-ed, “Profiting from […]

YLC Supports SSI for Children with Disabilities

The Youth Law Center joined advocates across the country to respond to a New York Times Op-Ed by Nicholas Kristof that mischaracterized the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program for children.   The SSI Coalition for Children and Families said that Kristof’s piece, “Profiting from a Child’s Illiteracy,” painted a dangerous false choice between investing in early […]

Funding for At-Risk Youth Lacks Oversight, Advocates Say

By Kendall Taggart  |  California Watch  —   More than a dozen civil rights and education organizations are contending that the California Department of Education unlawfully stopped monitoring millions of dollars in funding for low-income and minority students. The Asian Pacific American Legal Center, along with other advocates, filed a friend of the court brief Friday claiming the Department […]

Corene Kendrick on School to Prison Pipeline Panel

Staff Attorney Corene Kendrick and Roger Chan, Executive Director of the East Bay Children’s Law Office, spoke in a panel presentation at Stanford University on January 18, 2011. The topic of the discussion was the school-to-prison pipeline, and how zero tolerance policies and the presence of law enforcement in schools lead to more youth ending […]

LA Times Article re Mother’s Fight for Son’s Education

COLUMN ONE:  With Son Behind Bars, Mother Wages Battles For His Education By Victoria Kim, Los Angeles Times  |  The Los Angeles Times  — She took on successive bureaucracies, demanding a proper education for Michael while he sat in juvenile hall and then county jail, his learning stagnating as he awaited trial. Now that he’s in state prison, […]

Jennifer Rodriguez at Foster Care Education Symposium

YLC staff Attorney Jennifer Rodriguez presented on California’s policy efforts to improve education outcomes for youth placed in foster care at a symposium held by Georgetown Public Policy Institute’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform in Washington, D.C. The symposium was centered on the release of a paper, “Addressing the Unmet Educational Needs of Children and […]