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Episode: Credit overdue, examining academic transfer problems for U.S. youth in the juvenile justice system

Across the country, more than 48,000 youth are confined to juvenile justice facilities, and one of the overlooked aspects of the broader ecosystem of confinement is formal education. While youth have access to classes within these facilities, questions arise for youth when they leave the facility and return to the school. Credit Overdue: How States Can Mitigate Academic Credit Transfer Problems for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System, is a national report produced by the Juvenile Law Center, Education Law Center-PA, Drexel University and the Southern Poverty Law Center examines this complex, national, problem by taking a national perspective, by focusing on challenges around transferring academic credits between detention facilities and schools. To discuss this issue and the report I’m pleased to have two of the authors of the report, Kristina Moon of the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania and Nadia Mozaffar of the Juvenile Law Center on encuentros políticos.

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Kristina Moon is a Staff Attorney at Education Law Center Pennsylvania where she is counsel in federal litigation seeking to ensure youth in juvenile justice facilities receive a quality education, and a statewide lawsuit pursuing adequate and equitable school funding in Pennsylvania. Kristina also works to reduce education barriers facing English learners and immigrant students, in addition to supporting ELC’s broad advocacy to interrupt the school to prison pipeline and ensure equitable access to public schools. 

Nadia Mozaffar is a Senior Attorney at Juvenile Law Center. Her work focuses on advancing educational opportunities for children in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems through litigation, policy advocacy, coalition-building, and research. She has also led numerous trainings and presentations for lawyers, advocates, and policy makers on the educational rights of youth in these systems.  

Resources

Credit Overdue (Press Release)

Credit Overdue: How States Can Mitigate Academic Credit Transfer Problems for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System