The Youth Advocacy and Policy Lab (Y-Lab) invites you to a Y-Lab Writing Program Lunch Talk. Each participant will present their research and writing project, and attendees will have the opportunity to provide feedback and suggestions.
Students with Disabilities and Massachusetts Vocational Schools
Discussion with Brian Dezurick, Harvard Law School J.D. Candidate
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
12:30 – 1:30 PM
WCC Room 3007
Harvard Law School
Paper Topic: Massachusetts vocational high schools are regarded as among the best in the nation. However, students with disabilities are disproportionately excluded from Massachusetts vocational schools. In addition, even when students with disabilities are admitted to Massachusetts vocational high schools, they may not be served as well as students without disabilities. This paper traces the history of vocational education in Massachusetts and discusses some potential legal challenges to the current vocational high school regime with respect to students with disabilities.
Biography: Brian is a J.D. candidate at Harvard Law School (class of 2023) and a Youth Advocacy and Policy Lab Fellow. He has spent a significant portion of his law school career doing work in the Education Law Clinic but has also participated in the Housing Law Clinic and the Prison Legal Assistance Project. After law school, Brian will be joining the litigation department at Goulston & Storrs in Boston, Massachusetts.
Revitalizing the Democratic Vision of Public Education
Discussion with Alyssa Milstead, Harvard Law School J.D. Candidate
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
12:30 – 1:30 PM
WCC Room 3007
Harvard Law School
Paper Topic: In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the future of public education looks uncertain, as district enrollment numbers decline and families express unparalleled levels of discontent with their local public schools. In this paper, I propose that we may be able to address some of these challenges by examining our country’s early vision of public education, one that emphasized public education’s crucial role in a representative democracy. My paper argues that a revised democratic vision of public education could positively inform education policy and practices moving forward.
Biography: Alyssa is a J.D. candidate at Harvard Law School (Class of 2023) and a Youth Advocacy and Policy Lab Fellow. Prior to attending law school, Alyssa taught high school English for three years in Stockton, California. At HLS, she worked extensively in the Education Law Clinic, in addition to serving on the executive boards of the Harvard Journal of Law & Gender and Advocates for Education. After law school, Alyssa will be working at WilmerHale’s Palo Alto office.
An Examination of the Use of Prosecution to Empower Child Sexual Assault Survivors
Discussion with Casandra Ferrante, Harvard Law School J.D. Candidate
April 4, 2023
12:30-1:30 PM
WCC Room 3007
Harvard Law School
Paper Topic: Criminal cases involving child victims of sexual assault are some of the most notoriously difficult types of cases to prosecute. Sexual assault is one of the most egregious crimes committed against children, a group of individuals who are often seen as “powerless” and who depend on the very adults that sometimes, in turn, abuse them. These crimes are not only physically intrusive on the child but also have long-lasting emotional effects, in part due to the typical silencing, secrecy, and shame that comes with the power dynamics that are intertwined with this crime both during its commission and oftentimes after by both the offender, the criminal justice system and society in general.
This paper will explore the complexity of CSA prosecutions by discussing the inherent challenges and harms of these cases, reasons why these cases aren’t often pursued, let alone proceed to trial, and some potential benefits of advancing these cases- mainly focusing on the empowerment of the child’s voice. While the criminal justice system has played a role in the silencing, secrecy, and shame that are imported on victim’s of child sexual assault, there is room and ways for this not to be the case.
Biography: Casandra Ferrante is a J.D. Candidate at Harvard Law School (Class of 2023). Prior to attending law school, she worked for the YMCA of Greater New York doing community advocacy work and then spent time as a legal secretary at WilmerHale. At HLS, Casandra has pursued child advocacy work with a focus on child abuse and neglect through the Child Advocacy: Child Welfare, Education & Juvenile Justice Clinic where she spent time doing Child Sexual Assault work for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. After graduation she will be a litigation associate at Ropes & Gray and hopes to keep pursuing child advocacy work through pro-bono opportunities.
Juvenile Sex Offender Registration and Notification Laws Do More Harm Than Good
Discussion with Rowan Hong, Harvard Law School J.D. Candidate
April 4, 2023
12:30-1:30 PM
WCC Room 3007
Harvard Law School
Paper Topic: In the United States, children as young as ten are being branded sex offenders. Even when registration requirements are limited in duration, because of the internet, these children are branded for life. Teens who exchange sexts, young and/or disabled children still learning about appropriate boundaries, and 9-year-olds who reenact sexual abuse they have suffered without understanding the significance of their actions are treated the same way as adults sex offenders. Juvenile sex offender registration and notification not only fails to increase public safety but inflicts irreparable harm upon young registrants. This paper will explore the history and impact of juvenile sex offender registration and notification laws. It will conclude with a discussion of evidence-based alternatives to protect and heal children, including those who have done sexual harm.
Biography: Rowan Hong (J.D. Candidate, Class of 2023) is a Youth Advocacy & Policy Lab Fellow, a member of the Y-Lab Writing Group, a former clinical intern for the Children’s Justice Unit at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office via the Harvard Child Advocacy Clinic, a former clinical intern for the Committee for Public Counsel Services Youth Advocacy Division also through the Harvard Child Advocacy Clinic, a current (two-time) clinical intern with the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Advocacy Clinic/Greater Boston Legal Services (working exclusively on child asylum claims), a teaching fellow for Nancy Kelly and John Willshire Carrera (Emerging Issues in Refugee Protection: The Representation of Child Asylum Seekers), a volunteer English tutor, a terrible poet, and a CSA survivor. She has interned with the Human Trafficking Legal Center and the University of Houston’s Office of Equal Opportunity Services. Rowan will be continuing her work with child asylum seekers with Greater Boston Legal Services after graduation.
This lunch talk is part of our Preserving Public Education Speaker Series.