What we DO

Education Justice

A high-quality public education is a fundamental civil right for all children.

More than 60 years ago, the Court in Brown v. Board of Education wrote: “Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments.” Yet our city’s schools are increasingly segregated, separate and unequal. The quality of an education that District of Columbia students receive still depends far too much on the neighborhood in which they live, the income of their family, the color of their skin, the language they speak at home, and whether they have a disability.

Our Education Justice work addresses inequality in education, particularly for children of color, with disabilities and English language learners in the District of Columbia. We do this through four core areas: parent empowerment, academic enrichment, school partnerships and legal cases and matters.

We will not stop until every single DC student has the opportunity to learn and achieve their full potential.
contact us

Learn more about joining the fight for education rights by contacting us at [email protected].

Parent Empowerment Program
Parent Empowerment Program
Many studies show that parental involvement at school dramatically improves educational outcomes for children. In order to support each student’s right to a high-quality education throughout the city, we must support parents and students to express their power. Read More.
Public School Partnership Program
Public School Partnership Program
Not only have public schools in urban communities have been historically segregated by race and income, but schools are also segregated by resources. The opportunity and resource gap amongst affluent and low-income students is monumental. The School Partnerships is an effort to fix an often unspoken injustice in public education.  Read More.
Public Policy
Reports
Case Study

Columbia Heights is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the District. It is also one of the most rapidly changing. An African American neighborhood for most of the last half of the last century that welcomed Latinx immigrants escaping the Wars in Central American in the 1980’s and 1990’s, has rapidly gentrified.

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“Dr. King said, ‘the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice.’ But only when people pull it toward justice. The Washington Lawyers’ Committee is doing the pulling, and our city and the nation are better for it.”
Eric Holder, former Attorney General of the United States