NEA Civil Rights Law Fellow
National Education Association
Washington, DC
Annual Fellowship: $85,000
Application Deadline: Rolling Until Filled
The National Education Association (NEA) is America’s oldest and largest labor organization with some 3 million members. The mission of the NEA is to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education by preparing every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.
NEA seeks an attorney with at least two years of experience to join our eleven-member legal team in the NEA Office of General Counsel as a Civil Rights Law Fellow. The Fellowship provides a unique opportunity to work on the cause of advancing student civil rights with experienced counsel and other education advocates.
NEA represents teachers, education support professionals, social workers, graduate students, teachers, professors, and other educators in our nation’s public schools. NEA works on many fronts to advance the cause of public education, to improve the working lives of school employees, and to ensure equal access to educational opportunities for all children. NEA’s work includes substantial advocacy at the federal, state, and local level in support of public education, students and educational employees, as well as significant research and policy initiatives to promote educational quality and funding.
The NEA Civil Rights Law Fellow works out of NEA’s Office of General Counsel at NEA’s headquarters in Washington D.C. The fellowship is for a period of one year (through August 31, 2020), with the option of extending, upon mutual agreement, the fellowship for one additional year. The Civil Rights Law Fellow supports NEA’s work to ensure that students receive the full and equal educational opportunities to which they are entitled under the law. Over the past few years, NEA’s student civil rights advocacy has included all of the following:
Development of, and training of members and advocates on, comprehensive legal guidance on Students’ Rights Not to Be Discriminated Against or Harassed Based on Race, Religion, National Origin, and Immigration Status available on this page. NEA’s guidance provides educators with an understanding of current laws that protect students from racial, religious, and national origin harassment; provides a model policy that school districts should adopt to ensure those protections are fully enforced; and provides FAQs and responses to assist in enforcement efforts.
Development of, and training of members and advocates on, the NEA Safe Zones Policies and Resolutions to protect students’ rights to attend public schools regardless of immigration status. The policies and resolutions, which are available on this page, provide school district activists and leaders with tools to reaffirm and protect undocumented students’ rights to enroll and remain in public school.
Development of, and training of members and advocates on, the NEA Legal Guidance on Transgender Students’ Rights, available on this page, which provides educators and districts with the current state of the law on transgender students’ rights, model trans-inclusive student policies, FAQs, and other resources.
Guidance for NEA affiliates and members seeking to support student walkouts over gun safety and related issues, available here.
Extensive litigation and amicus work, including in the following cases:
o Participating as an amicus in two of the pending cases challenging DACA’s repeal including the trial court litigation that secured the national injunction staying DACA’s repeal. In University of California v. DHS (and associated cases), NEA filed this amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit in support of one of the injunctions on behalf of a broad coalition of education groups including state education unions, the Association of California School Administrators, multiple California school districts, the California School Boards Association, and a number of national groups. The brief focuses on the critical void that DACA educators fill in schools, particularly in light of teacher shortages nationwide and a lack of diversity in the teaching force (despite the increasing diversity of public school students) and the harm to students and schools that DACA’s rescission has caused. In New York v. Trump/Batalla Vidal v. Nielsen, NEA filed a similar amicus brief in the Second Circuit on behalf of the National School Boards Association, AASA, the School Superintendents Association, the American Federation of School Administrators, education unions, and other public education organizations.
o Feminist Majority Foundation v. University of Mary Washington, No. 17-220 (4th Cir.), in which NEA filed in support of female university students who had been subjected to online, anonymous, peer harassment and threats. The NEA amicus discusses the impact that cyber-bullying and harassment has on students and makes the points that the trial court holding that schools have no duty to prevent and remedy such harassment is wrong and, if not reversed, would have an incredibly harmful effect on the educational opportunities of girls, LGBTQ students, and students of color.
o Doe v. Boyertown Area School District, No. 17-3113 (3d Cir.) and Parents for Privacy v. Dallas School District, No. 18-35708 (9th Cir.), in which NEA filed in support of a trans-inclusive policies adopted by the school districts. The NEA amici detail how trans-inclusive policies both allow transgender students to thrive while also improving the overall school climate for all students. The briefs further argue that preventing schools from adopting trans-inclusive policies is deeply harmful to both transgender students and educators.
o Smith v. Board of Education of Frederick County, Maryland, No. 17-2302 (D. Md.), in which NEA and our state affiliate moved to intervene to defend the Frederick County Teachers Association, who had successfully urged their school board to adopt a trans-inclusive student policy only to have that policy challenged in court by right-wing organizations contending that the policy was unconstitutional.
Responsibilities: The Student Civil Rights Fellow will:
Provide legal analysis, advice and counsel, and training on student civil rights and related issues to NEA staff, affiliates and members.
Assist in handling litigation representing NEA, its affiliates and members related to student civil rights.
Monitor and analyze student civil rights legal developments of interest to NEA and its members and provide regular updates on other developments of interest to NEA lawyers throughout the country.
Assist in developing NEA’s strategic legal initiatives related to student civil rights.
Assist with other legal matters (internal and external) as needed.
Qualifications:
J.D. from an accredited law school required.
Two or more years of post-graduation legal experience (judicial clerkships preferred).
Excellent oral and written advocacy and communication skills.
Demonstrated commitment to civil rights, students’ rights, and workers’ rights.
Ability to perform complex legal analytical work.
Self-motivated and able to manage a variety of tasks concurrently.
Demonstrated ability to work independently as well as within in a team.
Healthy respect for colleagues.
A sense of humor.
To Apply: Please forward a letter of interest in the NEA Civil Rights Law Fellowship, resume, significant writing sample (between 10 and 30 pages), law school transcript, and a list of three references to Kelli Brown at kbrown@nea.org or Kelli Brown, NEA Office of General Counsel, NEA, 1201 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036.
Applicants should submit only one set of materials by hard copy, e-mail, or fax. Please indicate "2019-20 Civil Rights Law Fellowship Application" on your email or cover letter.
The National Education Association is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply.