ELC is one of the only nonprofit organizations in New Jersey that specializes exclusively in education law. While our work extends throughout the country, New Jersey is the only state where ELC is funded to provide free legal services to income-eligible parents, guardians and caregivers of students in disputes involving public education from pre-school through high school.
ELC’s services extend from legal advice to pro bono referrals to direct litigation. We provide assistance on a wide range of school law issues, including:
- special education for children with disabilities, including problems with eligibility, classification, placement, services, program appropriateness and discipline;
- harassment, intimidation, and bullying, including LGBTQ+ students who are targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity;
- suspensions, expulsions or other forms of discipline;
- school residency disputes, including education of homeless children; and
- bilingual and language-appropriate education, including undocumented children.
How to Apply for Legal Assistance
If you are seeking legal assistance, please contact our intake system at 973-624-1815, ext. 300. You will be asked to leave a voicemail with your name and a call-back telephone number. Intake services are available in both English and Spanish, and interpretation services are available for other languages. With rare exceptions, our Intake Coordinator will return your call within two business days. During this process, you will be screened for eligibility, scheduled for an intake application by telephone, and asked to provide relevant information and documents. Once completed, your intake application will be assigned to an attorney for review and follow-up.
Because demand for our services far exceeds available attorney resources, ELC is only able to accept a limited number of cases for full legal representation. However, we provide advice and referrals to anyone with a completed intake application. In accepting cases, ELC prioritizes low-income students who attend school in low-income school districts. ELC also evaluates whether cases present recurring problems in the school district or at the state level, and/or whether they present unresolved and important legal questions. While ELC serves families statewide on general education matters, our special education casework is focused on northern and central New Jersey.
In addition to assisting individual students and families, ELC engages in systemic litigation to address widespread violations of students’ rights and improve educational opportunities for large groups of children. For more information about our litigation work and impact, visit the Litigation page.
Know Your Rights
ELC’s “Know Your Rights” publications help families, advocates, and community members understand and enforce the legal rights to education of public school students. These free guides provide comprehensive information about laws and regulations, practical advice and advocacy tips, and sample letters and documents. Topics include special education, transition, discipline, bullying, residency, and homeless students. Many guides are also available in Spanish, except (as of yet) discipline and bullying. The full series can be found on our Publications webpage. ELC also offers flyers, in multiple languages, and fact sheets on our Immigrant Students and English Learners webpages.