For Immediate Release:
March 21, 2018
PARTNERSHIP FOR EDUCATIONAL JUSTICE CONTINUES FIGHT FOR DREAMERS
New York, NY – Partnership for Educational Justice (PEJ) yesterday submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in support of the plaintiffs in the DACA lawsuit Regents of the University of California v. United States Department of Homeland Security. The filing is part of PEJ’s ongoing support for the plaintiffs that filed federal lawsuits to block President Trump’s rescission of the DACA program.
PEJ has partnered with four other groups in the 50CAN network – including DelawareCAN: The Delaware Campaign for Achievement Now; HawaiiKidsCAN; NewMexicoKidsCAN; and Virginia Excels – to submit a brief detailing the irreparable educational harms that will be experienced by students. This brief presents unique information and perspective to the court beyond what has been provided by the lawyers for the parties, providing critical perspective for the court’s understanding of what is at stake for students.
“DACA is an immigration policy, but in the world of advocacy and reform, it is also an education policy. The stories of Dreamers and continued research from scholars about DACA’s impact on academic achievement make it clear that the results of the latest government showdown on the issue have far-reaching consequences,” said Alissa Bernstein, Executive Director of Partnership for Educational Justice (PEJ). “Our children’s educational futures should not be used as a political bargaining chip. We can only hope that our courts will provide the checks and balances that judicial review was designed to guarantee for the benefit of every student whose future depends on it.”
PEJ’s full amicus brief can be found here. The law firm Cooley LLP provided pro bono representation for this amicus brief filing.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a policy created by President Barack Obama to help protect certain undocumented young people who came to the United States as children. After the Trump Administration announced that it would be phasing out the program, lawsuits were filed in federal courts in California and New York to stop the rescission from taking effect. If successful, the lawsuits will preserve the rights of the approximately 800,000 DACA grantees across the county who are covered by the program, and have been able to live, study and work in the United States without fear of arrest or deportation.
About Partnership for Educational Justice (PEJ)
PEJ pursues educational equity through legal action to improve the quality of public schools. PEJ utilizes a variety of legal actions to achieve its mission, including pursuing impact litigation, amicus brief filings, Freedom of Information Act requests, and other law-related avenues that seek to achieve meaningful reforms of education laws or policies that fail to prioritize students’ rights. PEJ is an affiliate of the national education nonprofit 50CAN: 50 State Campaign for Achievement Now, which advocates at the local level for a high-quality education for all kids, regardless of their address.
###
Contact:
Maggie McKeon, 315.730.5101, Maggie@kpa.nyc