Cara McClellan, the founding director and practice associate professor of the Advocacy for Racial and Civil (ARC) Justice Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, addresses challenges in school discipline and works towards education equity and ending the criminalization of Black people. She employs a movement lawyering model, engaging with the community and using strategic planning and listening sessions to understand the issues. Cara emphasizes the importance of not immediately resorting to litigation, and her clinic is unique in that they work with groups like Law for Black Lives in a clinical and academic setting.
One example of the clinic’s work is how they advocate for children who are blind or have visual impairments and have Individualized Education Plans (IEP) that require the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) to provide door-to-door transportation to and from their school each day. However, SDP has consistently failed to provide adequate transportation to these students, in violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Specifically, buses are frequently late, which means students are denied instructional time. SDP has also failed to adhere to other transportation requirements mandated by students’ IEPs, including having an attendant available on the buses to ensure student safety and making sure the buses are equipped with seatbelts and harnesses. The result is that students are put at risk each day.