50th Anniversary
1973 to 2023: ELC to Celebrate 50 Years!
Education Law Center is celebrating 50 years of innovative advocacy to protect and strengthen the constitutional right of the nation’s school children to public education.
ELC is recognized for many ground-breaking successes over the decades in the courtroom and in the statehouse. Our cutting-edge work is driven by the relentless pursuit of education justice and equity to ensure all students receive a high quality public education that prepares them to participate as citizens in a democratic society and as valued contributors to vibrant communities and a robust economy.
As we approach 50 years of credible and sustained advocacy, ELC is excited to announce a series of events to lift up past accomplishments, highlight current work, and share our vision for meeting the growing threat to public education as the bulwark of our democracy.
Below is our upcoming event lineup. Please save the dates on your calendar and join us as we move into a landmark year in ELC’s history:
50th Anniversary Celebration. May 4, 2023. Robert Treat Hotel. Newark, NJ. Purchase tickets and/or sponsorship here.
ELC will proudly celebrate 50 years of promoting educational equity and racial justice in New Jersey and other states across the country. Please join us to as we commemorate the last five decades of progress and set the stage for the next fifty years and beyond. Our celebration will include:
- A panel discussion from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. featuring Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Professor Derek Black, AFT President Randi Weingarten, and NEA President Becky Pringle.
- A reception from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., where we will celebrate ELC’s 50 years and salute outgoing Executive Director David Sciarra and formally welcome incoming Executive Director Bob Kim.
Help Education Law Center celebrate 50 years and beyond with a tax-deductible contribution. Your donation will ensure we can continue to defend the right to public education across the country!
Stay up-to-date on ELC’s 50th anniversary events by signing up for ELC news alerts and following @EdLawCenter on Facebook and Twitter.
Litigating Against Private School Vouchers. Wednesday, March 8, 4-5:30 p.m. ET; co-sponsored by Public Funds Public Schools.
- This webinar, presented by ELC and PFPS, focused on private school voucher legislation and lawsuits challenging voucher programs and other diversions of public funds to private education.
Money Matters: Evidence Supporting Greater Investment in PK-12 Public Education. Wednesday, November 30, 3-5:00 p.m. ET; co-sponsored by ETS and the Learning Policy Institute (LPI). Access a recording of the webinar here.
- Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (LPI) will be joined by Dr. Rucker Johnson (University of California, Berkeley) and Dr. Jesse Rothstein (University of California, Berkeley) to discuss the latest research on the benefits of increased education spending for improving student achievement. ETS President Amit Sevak will offer a welcome, and David Sciarra will moderate the discussion. This session offers policymakers, stakeholders and advocates clear and tangible evidence to successfully argue for greater investments in their public schools.
Pennsylvania School Funding on Trial: View from the Trenches. Thursday, November 3, 3-4:30 p.m. ET; co-sponsored by Public Interest Law Center and Education Law Center Pennsylvania
- Katrina Robson, Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg, and Maura McInerny, the lead lawyers in the recently concluded trial in William Penn School District v. Pennsylvania Department of Education, join ELC Executive Director David Sciarra for an in-depth conversation on trial strategy, lessons learned and next steps. This invitation-only webinar is part of ELC’s Litigators’ Workshop series of ongoing convenings for lawyers representing plaintiffs in school finance and other equity lawsuits across the county.
Post Carson v. Makin: How Can We Protect Public Education? Thursday, October 6, 3-4 p.m. ET; co-sponsored by Public Funds Public Schools. Access a recording of the webinar here.
- This webinar will focus on the national implications of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Carson v. Makin—expanding the reach of religion into Maine’s public school system. The event features features Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey and Assistant Attorney General Sarah Forster, Dr. John Jackson, President and CEO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, and Dr. Preston Green, Professor of Educational Leadership and Law at the University of Connecticut and the John and Maria Neag Professor of Urban Education at the Neag School.
For more information on these events, contact Sharon Krengel, ELC Director of Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Communications.