Students’ Civil Rights Project

Public Justice’s Students’ Civil Rights Project combines high-impact litigation with other advocacy tools to combat harassment and other forms of discrimination in schools. We strive to create systemic change so all students can learn and thrive, and to secure justice for students who are denied educational opportunities based on their race, national origin, ethnicity, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

Every student must be able to learn in an environment that is free from discrimination, including harassment and violence. No student should lose out on the chance to learn because of who they are. And no student should fear going to school because they are the target of discrimination.

Civil rights laws offer a crucial tool to ensure schools create safe and equitable learning environments. When schools fail their students, we take them to court to ensure long-lasting change. We litigate cases from pre-suit negotiations all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Our recent and ongoing cases include:

Shelby v. Huntsville City Board of Education

Nigel Shelby was a Black, gay teenager who died by suicide after experiencing race and anti-gay discrimination at Huntsville High School in Alabama. After his death, Nigel’s parents filed this federal lawsuit against the school board and an administrator. Public Justice joined the case and helped secure a significant settlement that included important changes to protect other LGBTQ+ students within the school district.

Brown v. State of Arizona

While a student at the University of Arizona, Mackenzie Brown was subjected to egregious intimate partner violence by a classmate. She filed a Title IX lawsuit against the school, which had known about her abuser’s violence toward other students but did nothing to stop him. Three judges on a federal appeals court held that the school did not break the law when it caused Mackenzie to be abused because the abuse occurred off school grounds. Public Justice then joined the case, convincing the full appeals court to rehear the appeal and rule for Mackenzie instead.

K.R. v. Duluth Public Schools Academy

Black charter school students in Duluth, Minnesota faced discriminatory discipline and rampant racial harassment. Public Justice helped the students and their families bring a successful lawsuit that resulted in an important opinion about schools’ responsibilities to address racially hostile environments, as well as a meaningful settlement.

Snyder-Hill v. The Ohio State University

Ohio State University allowed a university doctor, Richard Strauss, to abuse male student athletes and others for decades. Public Justice represents over a hundred abuse survivors in a Title IX lawsuit against the school. Public Justice and co-counsel succeeded in persuading an appeals court that the victims filed their claims within the statute of limitations, and that all people subjected to sex discrimination by schools—not only students and employees—can bring Title IX claims.

You can read more about our legal work challenging sexual harassment, race discrimination, and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, or browse our case database.

If you believe you may have a case that Public Justice should know about, please click here to send our legal team details.

Our work goes beyond the courthouse. As advocates for equitable schools, we work to empower people – including students of color, LGBTQ+ students, and student survivors of sexual harassment – to organize for change in their K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. Working with advocates and partner organizations, we engage in policy advocacy to improve the laws that protect students.

Our Team

Learn more about the Students’ Civil Rights Project team of attorneys:

Adele Kimmel

Director, Students’ Civil Rights Project

Alexandra Brodsky

Senior Attorney

Shariful Khan

Skadden Fellow

Sean Ouellette

Senior Attorney

“The Students’ Civil Rights Project is a vital partner in the collective fight for gender and racial justice for students. Their legal team is exceptional and their humanity immense. We deeply value them.”

Fatima Goss Graves

President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center