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New Know-Your-Rights Resource Helps Massachusetts Youth Experiencing Homelessness Access and Exercise Their Legal Rights

Pro bono lawyers from Baker McKenzie, Boston Scientific and Liberty Mutual, and Staff of Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, co-author handbook

For more information, please contact:
Leah Schloss
Associate Director, NA Communications
leah.schloss@bakermckenzie.com
+1 212-626-4474

Boston, MA, February 23, 2021 – Global law firm Baker McKenzie, Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Boston Scientific, and Liberty Mutual are pleased to announce the publication of the Massachusetts Homeless Youth Handbook, an online resource designed to empower young people to understand their legal rights and take action to build safe, stable futures with Massachusetts-specific information.

More than 3,780 unaccompanied youth were identified as living on their own and without consistent access to shelter in Massachusetts in 2018. In Massachusetts schools, more than 23,500 students are estimated to be experiencing some form of homelessness, and their struggles have been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Handbook is an online resource written in plain-language and in a youth-friendly question-and-answer format to ensure young people can use it themselves. The resource will be shared with schools, libraries, public agencies, social advocates, and others throughout Massachusetts, and Massachusetts Appleseed will be organizing trainings around its use.

“Youth experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts face extraordinary challenges related to their path to self-sufficiency and stability, and that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Deborah Silva, Executive Director of Massachusetts Appleseed. “Our aim is to empower these young people to navigate through their struggle against homelessness, and equip them with the knowledge and tools they need to move beyond their current realities and find safety and support.”

More than 60 volunteer attorneys and staff committed hundreds of hours to researching, writing, and editing the handbook, which covers a range of topics including education, domestic and dating violence, healthcare, and more. Volunteer attorneys were guided by community-based experts, who provided essential insights throughout the process.

“We are so pleased to contribute to this worthy effort in providing support to homeless youth and their advocates,” said James Kelleher, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at Liberty Mutual. “With this easily accessible handbook, we can help lift young people out of homelessness and change their trajectory toward independence and stability.”

“We know that supporting underserved youth isn’t just the right thing to do for today—it’s also fueling a diverse talent pipeline of problem-solvers for the future,” said Desiree Ralls-Morrison, senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Massachusetts-based medical technology leader Boston Scientific. “We are hopeful that the new Handbook will help homeless young people to find security and build a better future.”

Participating youth from the organizations My Life My Choice (an organization that works to end commercial sexual exploitation of children) and Bridge Over Troubled Waters (a Boston-based agency providing services for homeless, runaway, and at-risk youth) reviewed specific handbook chapters to ensure the content includes information most pertinent to their needs and effectively simplifies legal terminology.

Baker McKenzie has partnered with other organizations to produce handbooks in 8 different states, as well as Washington D.C. Learn more here.

“The Homeless Youth Handbook project is an excellent example of how collaboration among in-house counsel, non-profits and law firms can exponentially increase assistance to those in need, particularly the most vulnerable among us during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Colin Murray, North America Chief Executive Officer at Baker McKenzie. “Through partnerships like this, we are able to provide these youth in the US, and their advocates, with clear guidance on young people’s legal rights. Thank you to the talented teams at Liberty Mutual, Boston Scientific and Massachusetts Appleseed for their collaboration with us on this important project.”

About Massachusetts Appleseed

Massachusetts Appleseed’s mission is to promote equal rights and opportunities for Massachusetts residents by developing and advocating for systemic solutions to social justice issues. The nonprofit researches and identifies the ways in which the justice system, schools, and government agencies have systematically failed impoverished and vulnerable communities, challenges harmful public policies that perpetuate injustices and inequities, advocates for statewide policy solutions, and develops know-your-rights resources for those impacted. (https://massappleseed.org)

About Liberty Mutual

At Liberty Mutual, we believe progress happens when people feel secure. By providing protection for the unexpected and delivering it with care, we help people embrace today and confidently pursue tomorrow.

In business since 1912, and headquartered in Boston, today we are the sixth largest global property and casualty insurer based on 2019 gross written premium. We also rank 77th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2019 revenue. As of December 31, 2019, we had $43.2 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

We employ more than 45,000 people in 29 countries and economies around the world. We offer a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, specialty lines, reinsurance, commercial multiple-peril, workers compensation, commercial automobile, general liability, surety, and commercial property.

About Baker McKenzie

Baker McKenzie helps clients overcome the challenges of competing in the global economy. We solve complex legal problems across borders and practice areas. Our unique culture, developed over 70 years, enables our 13,000 people to understand local markets and navigate multiple jurisdictions, working together as trusted colleagues and friends to instill confidence in our clients. (www.bakermckenzie.com)

 

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Family Separation is the Result of Mass. Department of Children and Families’ Violations of Statutory Language Access Rights, a New Study Finds

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 26, 2021

Media Contact:
Melanie Rush
Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice
melanie@massappleseed.org

BOSTON, MA – The Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice today released a report citing the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) for failing to provide federally mandated language access to limited English proficient (LEP) families involved with the agency. As a result, LEP parents cannot meaningfully comprehend or participate in the DCF process and subsequently face an increased likelihood of separation compared to their English-speaking counterparts.

“A lack of DCF investigators who speak a family’s language or dialect or are not completely fluent often leads to miscommunication about events and circumstances, which in turn can lead to erroneous conclusions about the family by DCF,” said Jessica R. Salinas-Thomas, Esq., an attorney with the Committee for Public Counsel Services who represents DCF-involved families. “… These problems can lead to a delayed reunification for a family or even the termination of a parent’s rights and a child’s loss of its family and community.”

The report examines the various ways in which the Department of Children and Families violates the civil language access rights of parents, the reasons for this systemic failure, and outlines steps that DCF, the Massachusetts Legislature, and the Massachusetts legal community should take to prevent the unjust separation of families and ensure the Commonwealth’s child welfare system complies with federal civil rights law.

“This research shows that even at the most basic level, DCF is failing to provide adequate language access, as well as the very real and irreparable harm LEP families consequently endure,” said Deborah Silva, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. “Because of the trauma and instability children separated from their parents experience, which can have a profound and devastating impact on their mental health, emotional development, and ability to succeed in school, it is urgent that we take action to address this now. We call on DCF and our state legislators to make the changes necessary to ensure and protect the civil rights of all Massachusetts families.”

The findings of this report show that child welfare decisions involving LEP parents are often unjustly impacted by language access. The report’s findings include:

  • Despite a few individual “superstar” caseworkers, the majority of LEP parents do not receive sufficient interpretation services, document translation services, or social services in their primary language.
  • A lack of competent and impartial interpretation plagues DCF casework; it is estimated that an interpreter is present in only 25% of the LEP home visits the agency conducts.
  • LEP families regularly do not receive Action Plans, letters, notices, and agreements translated into their primary languages.
  • Often LEP parents experience wait times double those that English-speaking parents face when trying to attend the social services (such as therapy, substance use disorder meetings, or parenting classes) that are mandated by DCF.

“Language-based discrimination denies families and workers across the state equal access to their own government and the services they need,” said State Representative Adrian Madaro (D-East Boston). “It has no place in the Commonwealth, and as Massachusetts Appleseed’s report shows, the destructive impact it has on families can be permanent. If Massachusetts is truly committed to the principles of fairness, equity, and justice, then we need to guarantee language access and inclusion for all.”

A new state bill developed by the statewide Language Access Coalition, of which Massachusetts Appleseed is a member, and championed by Representative Madaro and Senator Sal DiDomenico would help remedy this problem by strengthening and standardizing language access requirements for state agencies. But the Massachusetts Legislature, DCF, and the legal community must take additional steps laid out in the report, including:

  • Improved policies and practices at DCF, such as implementing language access trainings for DCF staff, prioritizing hiring bilingual staff, ensuring contracted interpreters are competent and impartial, and publicizing the process for making language access complaints.
  • Increased trainings for staff of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, who should strongly advocate for their LEP clients’ meaningful access to DCF services through all means available, including the submission of complaints, if necessary.
  • Statewide legislation that provides a right for individuals to sue state-level government entities for disparate impact discrimination.
  • The exploration of alternative legal strategies for enforcing the rights of LEP families, including but not limited to impact litigation.

Representatives Joan Meschino and Adrian Madaro intend to file a civil rights bill, entitled An Act to create access to justice, which would restore the right of an individual to bring a claim in state court against a government agency when policies have a disparate impact on individuals designated as a protected class under Massachusetts state law. In this instance, the rights and case outcomes of limited English proficient families and parents are compromised by the department’s failure to provide language access during proceedings and services.

“Disparate impact discrimination is discrimination, regardless of intent,” said State Representative Joan Meschino (D-Hull).  “Our bill, An Act to create access to justice, enfranchises those who are discriminated against to take legal action in defense of their civil rights.  Access to state courts is essential to safeguard the civil rights of Massachusetts families, and Representative Madaro and I look forward to introducing the bill in the coming weeks.”

“The day-to-day work of DCF caseworkers is hard, and the stakes are high,” said Thomas Roy, a court-appointed attorney representing indigent clients who has worked closely with DCF. “But ultimately, it’s about communicating effectively with parents, and when that doesn’t happen, families are the ones who bear the consequences which can include a termination of parental rights. The end of the legal relationship between parent and child, the equivalent of a death sentence to a family.”

The report, “Families Torn Apart: Language-Based Discrimination at the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families” is available online: https://massappleseed.org/reports/families-torn-apart/

About the Massachusetts Appleseed Center for Law and Justice:

Massachusetts Appleseed’s mission is to promote equal rights and opportunities for Massachusetts residents by developing and advocating for systemic solutions to social justice issues. We research the ways in which the justice system, schools, and government agencies are systematically failing our most vulnerable residents. We collaborate with community partners to ensure that recommended plans of action are practical and comprehensive. We advocate for the implementation of solutions that will create lasting change.

 

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Massachusetts Appleseed Statement on the Passing of Kevin J. Curtin

Kevin J. Curtin

Kevin J. Curtin

2020 has been a year of tragedy, and of lost champions.

We were stunned and deeply saddened to learn late last night of the sudden passing of Kevin J. Curtin, a member of Massachusetts Appleseed’s Board of Directors.

Kevin was a devoted and passionate advocate of access to justice and equitable opportunity, who spoke persistently about the need to confront the core inequities we face as a society. A teacher, mentor, and pillar of the Massachusetts legal community, he brought his years of expertise and compassionate commitment to the rule of law to our work. Our Board and staff remember him as a dedicated partner with an inquisitive and easygoing nature, who consistently pushed for bold action against injustice, discovered fellow graduates of Boston College Law School with unbridled joy, and was endlessly generous with his time and enthusiasm. His untimely and tragic death is a devastating loss for us all.

Through his personal and professional life, Kevin showed that the pursuit of social justice and the legal profession are not just intertwined, but inseparable. He had a steadfast belief that the law can be a tool in the service of good, and that lawyers have the power to make a difference. In a year already filled with so much struggle and pain, and amidst our own personal grief, these beliefs fuel our work in the days ahead.

We keep returning to something Kevin said in a recent meeting, about an upcoming initiative we hope to pursue in 2021. He noted that it will probably garner plenty of opposition. Then he smiled, raised his fist, and said we should stand tall and fight for it until the end.

Kevin brought this irresistible energy and will to all his work with Massachusetts Appleseed, and it is what we carry with us today as we mourn and remember him.

Upon joining the Board, Kevin said, “Together, I hope we will continue to help bend what the Rev. Martin Luther King called the long ‘arc of the moral universe,’ so that the idea of justice may become a little more real in the world.” As 2021 approaches, we hold his words close to our hearts and consider this a renewed call to action, for all of us at Massachusetts Appleseed.

In these past few months, we have lost far too many champions of the legal community. There is no way to describe the time we had with Kevin as he served on our Board as anything but a privilege and a gift. The days ahead will be emptier without him, and our thoughts and sincerest condolences are with his family, friends, and colleagues.

When he first joined the Board, Kevin was picking up the torch and building on the powerful and profound legacy of his father, Jack Curtin. Now it is our turn, and we hope we honor him and his own legacy by standing tall, taking bold action in service of our mission, and never giving up the fight for a fairer, more equitable future for all.

 

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Racial Justice and Policing Reform: Many Youth-Specific Provisions Included!

In response to the nationwide protests against police brutality and white supremacy this summer, the Massachusetts legislature has been working to pass a sweeping police reform bill. Working alongside coalition and community partners, we’ve been advocating for youth-specific provisions within the bill that help to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and address the over-policing of Massachusetts schools that disproportionately impacts Black and Latinx students.
 
Yesterday evening, the conference committee that has been negotiating the bill for several months released their finalized version, and I’m excited to report that many of the provisions we’ve been fighting for made it in!
 
Public Accountability on School Policing:
  • Removes state mandate to assign a School Resource Officer (SRO) and shifts the decision to superintendents
  • Requires public reporting of arrests/law enforcement referrals and mental health support spending and staffing
Preventing Racial Profiling of Students:
  • SROs subject to restrictions on sharing student information
  • Restricts sharing student information with Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC), Commonwealth Fusion Center, and gang databases
School Resource Officer MOUs:
  • Requires public reporting of every district’s school policing MOU annually
  • Requires schools to adopt model MOU and publicly file MOUs with DESE
Training for School Resource Officers:
  • Requires SROs to be certified and trained
While there’s still work to be done, this is a big step forward in the right direction to help us promote racial justice and police accountability in schools, protect the rights of young people, and ensure all students feel safe and supported in their pursuit of educational opportunity. 
 
Our thanks to House Speaker DeLeo, Senate President Spilka, and the members of the conference committee for including protections for young people in this key piece of legislation. Many thanks to Citizens for Juvenile Justice as well for their leadership of the Juvenile Justice Coalition and rapid analysis of the finalized bill!

 

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As Housing Protections End, Families Facing Eviction Need Legal Representation

Action Alert

Because the Massachusetts Legislature passed a temporary eviction and foreclosure moratorium in late April, thousands of families economically devastated by the pandemic have been able to stay in their homes. While that law provides Governor Baker the opportunity to extend the moratorium at increments of up to 90 days until 45 days after the State of Emergency is lifted, the Governor has publicly signaled that he plans to let these protections expire on October 17th. 

It is estimated that anywhere from 20,000 to 80,000 new evictions will occur when the moratorium expires! 

Massachusetts Appleseed has previously advocated for the creation of a Right to Counsel pilot program that could protect many of these renters from eviction and potentially homelessness once the moratorium ends. Initially, we asked for a pilot program that would allow nonprofit and legal aid organizations to offer representation within 5,000 eviction cases. 

But as the numbers of likely evictions continue to climb, addressing 5,000 cases is clearly not enough. The Right to Counsel Coalition has sent a letter to Governor Baker advocating for a comprehensive plan that ensures representation for tenants and landlords in 22,000 eviction cases. We need your help to make this happen before the eviction moratorium ends on October 17th!

 

What You Can Do

  1. Email Governor Baker and ask him to support S. 2785 to establish a COVID right to counsel pilot program, in addition to funding rental assistance.
  2. Call the Governor’s office TODAY (9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) and ask him to support S. 2785 to establish a COVID right to counsel pilot program, in addition to funding rental assistance. 
  • Main Office: 617-725-4005 
  • Toll-free: 888-870-7770
  • TTY: 617-727-3666

You can send Governor Baker an email like this: 

Dear Governor Baker,

Time is of the essence. Courts alone cannot handle the eviction crisis and protect people in our communities from being evicted. Massachusetts needs a comprehensive plan for tenants and homeowners to prevent mass eviction and we urge you to:
  1. Fund rental assistance to stabilize people’s housing and prevent homelessness.
  2. Adopt a framework to provide time, protection, and housing assistance to tenants, homeowners, and landlords to keep people housed.
  3. Implement a statewide right to counsel program to prevent eviction and preserve tenancies.

Tenants, landlords, municipal leaders, health care professionals, and advocates are worried about what will happen when the eviction moratorium ends. The CDC moratorium is not enough. We urge you to use COVID relief funding to prevent housing instability and keep Massachusetts residents safe. We need your leadership to get us through this. Thank you.

(Your name)

Send Governor Baker an email.

 

 

Our Response to COVID-19

From developing and sharing accessible legal resources in areas of urgent need to advocating for equitable policies to support those hit hardest by COVID-19 – there’s work to be done. Learn more about steps we’re taking to aid our most vulnerable communities during the pandemic and how you can help.

Our Response to COVID-19

 

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In Remembrance: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Our hearts are heavy this week.

Just a few days following the tragic passing of Massachusetts’ own Chief Justice Gants, we have lost another beacon of light in the judiciary. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent her decades-spanning career fighting to make the American promise of “equal protection under the law” a reality, and she will be profoundly missed.  

A cultural icon, perhaps her most enduring legacy is as a champion of women’s rights. This week, a credit card in the wallets of women is not just a piece of plastic; in the days since Friday, it’s a memorial to Justice Ginsburg’s tireless work to end sex discrimination and ensure women are able to achieve financial autonomy and pursue all the opportunities life has to offer, free from legal barriers. She proved to us, time and time again, that no injustice is too great to overcome and to be committed to justice means to be in it for the long haul. A trailblazer of the legal community, Justice Ginsburg reminds us that rights are rarely given. They are fought for.

The challenges of 2020 exposed how far we still have to go – for racial equity, for immigrant rights, for the hundreds of thousands of people trapped in cycles of poverty by systemic failures of our society. Through her persistent dedication to the rule of law, Justice Ginsburg laid the groundwork for much of the powerful advocacy work grounded in social justice we see today. Relentless in the pursuit of justice and searing in her dissents, she illustrated that we not only have an obligation to fight the impossible fights – we can win them. And in so doing, we can build a better world based in justice, fairness, and equity.

All we can do is say thank you, and vow to keep the work going. May her memory be a blessing. May we live up to the legacy she leaves behind and bring about the world she knew is possible.

 

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Massachusetts Appleseed Statement on the Passing of Chief Justice Gants

Image of Chief Justice Gants

Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants.

We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Ralph D. Gants, and join the Massachusetts legal community in mourning the loss of an extraordinary leader.

Chief Justice Gants had a consummate understanding of the powerful ways the courts can shape and redirect people’s lives, and the imperative need to ensure the civil justice system is accessible to all. A passionate advocate of access to justice, he imbued the judicial system with his endless compassion and commitment to the rule of law. Armed with his trademark wit, humor, and thoughtful brilliance, Chief Justice Gants raised the standard of the entire legal profession, challenging tradition in the pursuit of a fairer, more equitable society. 

At Massachusetts Appleseed, we feel honored to have had the opportunity to work with the Chief Justice over the years. A featured speaker at our 2017 Access to Justice Conference and our most recent Annual Meeting, he was a steadfast supporter of our work to improve the courts and unshakable in his commitment to creating a civil justice system that serves everyone – not just those who can afford an attorney.

It was a privilege to witness him in action as co-chair of the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission. He approached this work with seemingly boundless energy, tenacity, and a generous spirit, easily dispensing encouragement to those around him. The journey towards justice is certainly long and difficult. But after each Commission meeting, listening to Chief Justice Gants speak, a better world often felt close at hand.

This week has been a painful one. The future always seemed a bit brighter with the Chief Justice lighting the way, and to lose him at this moment in time is hard to accept. Yet we feel his impact all around us, from the newly-released report he commissioned studying the systemic racial inequities within criminal court sentencing, to the Massachusetts Access to Justice Commission’s recent 2019-2020 Annual Report – detailing the many exceptional collaborative efforts he oversaw and guided as co-chair.

To have the head of the state’s highest court so tirelessly champion justice for all is no small thing, and Chief Justice Gants leaves behind a tremendous legacy and unfathomably large shoes to fill. We send our sincere condolences to his family and his friends, and those who knew him best.

Today, September 18th, the courts are closed to honor the memory of Chief Justice Gants. On Monday, they reopen, and the work to which he was so dedicated goes on. While we take this moment to personally work through our grief, we will remember the Chief Justice in all we do – in each policy change that supports our most vulnerable residents, each reform effort that makes our courts more welcoming institutions, and each small step towards a world where every person experiences equal protection under the law. We know we could not have come as far as we have without him. And we hope we honor his legacy by continuing the fight for justice.

 

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Appleseed Justice Centers Release New Report: Protecting Girls of Color from the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Report Finds Black Girls are Subject to Discriminatory School Disciplinary Action in Kansas, Massachusetts, and Alabama

WASHINGTON, DC, September 2, 2020 – Three members of the Appleseed Network, a non-profit network of independent organizations in the United States and Mexico working towards social and legal justice, today announced the release of their comprehensive report, “Protecting Girls of Color from the School-to-Prison Pipeline,” the final product of a year-long research project examining disparities in school disciplinary treatment for Black girls in Massachusetts, Alabama, and Kansas. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, an international law firm, served as pro bono partner throughout the project. 
 
The report is part of the Network’s extensive efforts to dismantle the complex school-to-prison pipeline, a continuum encompassing the steps that drive children out of school and into the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems.  Understanding how states approach school discipline is key: disciplinary policies including suspensions, expulsions, and school-based arrests may act as “gateways” to the criminal justice system later in their lives. 
 
The report’s findings illuminate a stark truth: girls of color, particularly Black girls, are consistently disciplined at a rate much higher than their white peers. Often, discipline is incurred more or to a greater extent by Black girls than their white peers for similar behavior. The findings also emphasize the significant change needed in school district disciplinary policies and data collection methods in order to protect girls of color from being funneled into the school-to-prison pipeline by means of excessive school discipline.
 
“This research helps to shine a light on one of the many ways that systemic racism continues to play out in Alabama,” says Akiesha Anderson, Policy Director at Alabama Appleseed. “The data irrefutably shows that Alabama’s public schools discipline Black girls more harshly than their white counterparts. As state leaders continue to grapple with criminal justice reform, the school-to-prison pipeline and its impact on Black girls should not be left out of the conversation.”
 
Key findings in the report include:

  • Across Alabama, Kansas, and Massachusetts, Black female students are roughly 5.2 times more likely to be disciplined than white female students.
  • In Alabama, Black girls are roughly 3.7 times more likely to be disciplined than their white female classmates
  • In Kansas, Black girls are roughly 6.2 times more likely more likely to be disciplined than their white female classmates.
  • In Massachusetts, Black girls are roughly 3.9 times more likely to be disciplined than their white counterparts.
  • State level data that is disaggregated by race, gender, and ethnicity is not widely available. The data also do not account for multiple forms of discipline and do not typically state the cause for discipline.

Policy proposals include:

  • More state and federal legislation mandating the consistent collection of data on school disciplinary action and ensuring databases are publicly accessible, cross-tabulated, and disaggregated to account for age, gender, race, and ethnicity.
  • More transparent data and incident reporting is a key step to further advocacy aimed at making schools safe environments for all students.

Deb Silva, Executive Director of Massachusetts Appleseed and a key partner on this project, said of the report, “It demonstrates the devastating impact that the intersection of gender and racial discrimination is having on Black girls in Massachusetts schools, and the indisputable need to include our classrooms in the ongoing dialogues about systemic racism currently sweeping the country. The school-to-prison pipeline is very much alive in Massachusetts, and this report is an important step forward in our work to advocate against the unjust school discipline policies that target and punish girls of color and promote a more inclusive and supportive vision of education.”
 
“The report exposes a dramatic imbalance in our school system and highlights the continued need for us to investigate and eradicate systemic racism at every level of our society.  It is impossible to ignore the lifelong consequences that such a disparate school discipline system has on young people of color,” says Mike Fonkert, Campaign Director of Kansas Appleseed. “We must do better.”

Willkie Farr & Gallagher worked with representatives from Alabama Appleseed, Massachusetts Appleseed, and Kansas Appleseed to collect and analyze federal school disciplinary data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection database, as well as state-level data from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The report analyzes data available for five discipline categories: in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, referrals to law enforcement, and school-related arrests.

About the Appleseed Network
Appleseed is a network of 16 justice centers across the U.S. and Mexico working for a more just, inclusive, and hopeful future for us all.
 
For more information, please contact:

Alabama Appleseed
Carla Crowder, Executive Director
205-305-0735
carla.crowder@alabamaappleseed.org

Massachusetts Appleseed
Deb Silva, Executive Director
617-482-8686
deb@massappleseed.org

Kansas Appleseed
Mike Fonkert, Campaign Director
mfonkert@kansasappleseed.org

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Action Needed Now for Right to Counsel!

Action Alert

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 93% of tenants facing eviction from their homes did not have lawyers, while 70% of landlords had representation. While the eviction moratorium ending October 17th protects many of these tenants for the time being, it is estimated that as many as 15,000-20,000 new evictions could be filed when the moratorium ends. Unless we take action, thousands of families – a significant majority of which are likely to be from communities of color – will be thrown into Housing Court on their own. Without any form of legal representation, these families are significantly less likely to remain in their homes. Action is needed now to protect these renters.  

A statewide Right to Counsel pilot program would allow non-profits to provide full legal representation in eviction proceedings for both tenants and landlords whose incomes do not exceed 200% of the federal poverty level. We now have two different opportunities to advance such a Right to Counsel pilot program within the legislature.  

  1. Senator DiDomenico has filed Amendment #175 for the creation of a Right to Counsel pilot program within S.2842, An Act Enabling Partnerships for Growth. This bill was debated in the House yesterday (Monday, July 27), and the Senate will start to debate its version of the bill tomorrow (Wednesday, July 29).  
  2. Senator DiDomenico also filed S.2785, An Act promoting housing stability and homelessness prevention through a right to counsel pilot program in Massachusetts in response to the COVID-emergency. This bill was reported favorably out of the Housing Committee and is still in Senate Ways and Means. We need to get it to the Senate floor. 

How You Can Help

  1. Call or email your Senator and ask them to sign on as a co-sponsor to Amendment #175 within S.2842. Send this fact sheet. Find your Senator here or with this list of Senators. 
  2. Contact Senate Ways and Means Chair Rodrigues to report S.2785 to the Senate floor. Call Senator Rodrigues’ office at (617) 722-1114 and email him at Michael.Rodrigues@masenate.gov and his staff attorney Jacob.Blanton@masenate.gov.  

You can send Chair Rodrigues a message like this:  

_____________________________ (who you are) and __________(why you care). We are bracing ourselves for tens of thousands of evictions when the eviction moratorium expires in October. Tenants are terrified of being evicted. 93% of tenants face eviction without legal representation. Alone – they are unable to navigate quick-moving deadlines and complicated court procedures. These procedures will be even more complicated as the court goes virtual. Providing legal representation is essential to housing stability. Providing lawyers for vulnerable tenants saves the state money. Providing lawyers prevents housing instability at a time when we need to keep people safe and housed. This is urgent. Pass Amendment #175 and Pass S. 2785. 

The legislative session may end this week! Time is of the essence and we need your voices now!  

 

 

Our Response to COVID-19

From developing and sharing accessible legal resources in areas of urgent need to advocating for equitable policies to support those hit hardest by COVID-19 – there’s work to be done. Learn more about steps we’re taking to aid our most vulnerable communities during the pandemic and how you can help.

Our Response to COVID-19

 

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Protections for Young People Needed in Police Accountability Bill

Action Alert

It’s our last chance to act!  

The Police Accountability Bills from the House and Senate have been sent to a six-member Conference Committee for reconciliation. We need your help to make sure the final Police Accountability Bill protects young people.  

Our School Resource Officer (SRO) Priorities:  

  • Adopt Sections 50 & 51 of S.2820 which require a public vote by school committees – rather than the decision of superintendents and police chiefs – to annually assign SROs to schools. These sections also require public reporting of arrests and mental health student support spending for a district to qualify for an SRO.  
  • Fix the error in Section 50 which can be read to require school committee votes, not in traditional school districts, but in charter schools, which don’t have school committees. This was a technical error from Senate Ways and Means, and we need to fix it by adding “by public vote of the relevant school committee” to the first sentence of Section 50. 
  • Avoid the new model MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) process in House 66, and instead use the current Model MOU from 2018 as the baseline for all school districts, while keeping the transparency requirements from Section 66 of the House bill. 
  • Ensure that whatever qualified immunity provision the bill adopts expressly applies to SROs and amend c. 71 s. 37P(f) accordingly. 

Our Juvenile Justice Privacy Priorities:  

  • Adopt Section 49 of S.2820 to keep school administrators from sharing student information with federal law enforcement databases, while removing the “germane to an incident or activity” standard and removing the requirement that the aforementioned databases be “designed” to track gang affiliation.  
  • Adopt Sections 59, 60, 61, & 71 of S.2820 to expand eligibility of juvenile expungement by allowing expungement of non-convictions, replacing the one-case restriction to a 3 to 7 year waiting period, and maintaining a list of ineligible offenses only to those with a felony conviction. 

The legislative session may be ending this month, which means we need your voice TODAY. 

 

What You Can Do

  1. Email your senators and representatives using this template, and tell them you support the priorities of the Coalition for Smart Responses to Student Behavior in addition to the expansion of expungement. 
  2. Be sure to attach these four attachments to your email: Amendment #88’s list of co-sponsors, Amendment #1’s list of co-sponsors, the Coalition’s testimony in support of the above provisions, and additional testimony from the AFT-MA, MTA, and BTU  in support of the school committee provision vote.
  3. Because elected officials get a lot of emails, follow-up with a phone call.  
  4. Click here to find your legislators’ emails and phone numbers. 

 

Our Response to COVID-19

From developing and sharing accessible legal resources in areas of urgent need to advocating for equitable policies to support those hit hardest by COVID-19 – there’s work to be done. Learn more about steps we’re taking to aid our most vulnerable communities during the pandemic and how you can help.

Our Response to COVID-19

 

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