The Power of an Advocate

When her godson began struggling during his freshman year of high school, Ms. Neal knew what he needed: support.

Marcus* had lost his father to gun violence, and his mother suffered a seizure that left her permanently brain damaged. Ms. Neal, who took in Marcus and his three siblings after the family tragedies, believed he needed someone to talk to.

“Maybe if he was going through something, he could have a safe person to go to,” she said. “Somebody that can sit and talk to him about the things that’s on his mind instead of him lashing out.”

What Ms. Neal didn’t expect was how difficult it would be to get him that help.

Ms. Neal’s situation is very common, according to Nadiya Pope, an attorney with Advocates for Justice and Education (AJE), a DC Bar Foundation grantee partner that helps families understand their rights and advocate for the educational services and supports their children need. Families sometimes seek help because they believe their child needs an evaluation or additional support, only to find that schools do not respond until a larger problem develops.  

Ms. Pope said limited school resources, gaps in staff understanding of schools’ legal obligations, limited skills or knowledge addressing students’ needs, and parents not always being heard by school staff can contribute to families’ need for legal assistance. 

Ms. Neal knows what it feels like not to be heard.

“Parents are fighting for their children,” she said. “When we don’t have anyone to back us up, we get looked over in the school system.”

She repeatedly sought help from Marcus’s school, believing he needed support rather than punishment. She said the behaviors the school described weren’t the ones she saw at home. As she continued pushing for help, the process became exhausting.

“There’s been a lot of times I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m just over it. I just want to give up,’” Ms. Neal said.

Still, she kept looking for answers. Ms. Neal transferred Marcus to another school and shared the losses he had experienced. She was told he would receive support. Instead, she said, the school sought to remove him rather than evaluate him. After multiple school moves and many of the same challenges, Ms. Neal turned to AJE.

Ms. Pope said AJE sees other families encounter similar situations in which behavioral concerns are met with disciplinary measures rather than services that address what a student needs.

With AJE attorneys representing her family during due process proceedings, Ms. Neal successfully challenged the school’s decision to exclude Marcus and advocated for assessments that helped connect Marcus with group counseling, therapy, and support from a social worker. Today, he is doing well in school and aspires to become an HVAC technician after graduating next spring.

For AJE, advocacy also means helping parents understand their rights so they can continue advocating for their children. Ms. Pope said the goal is for families to leave AJE feeling “confident and empowered and educated on what their rights are” and better prepared to navigate the education system in the future.

Marcus wasn’t the only child AJE helped Ms. Neal advocate for. Over the years, AJE has assisted her with five of her children. When one of her sons struggled in school, AJE helped ensure he received the services outlined in his Individualized Education Program, addressed bullying, and represented the family in due process proceedings. He is now doing well and plans to become an electrician after graduating next year.

For Ms. Neal, having an attorney meant she no longer had to fight those battles alone—and her children could get the support they needed to thrive and pursue their goals.

*Name has been changed to protect the individual’s identity.