RFP: Education Defense Fund Senior Legal Fellow

Job Description:

The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL), through its Public Education Defense Fund (EDF), is inviting former federal government civil rights attorneys to submit their interest for short-term (4-6 month) Senior Legal Fellowships. Their insights into federal enforcement tools—like investigations, resolution agreements, and administrative processes—are invaluable in the fight to protect and advance civil rights for students.

By bringing these fellows in to support our broader work, NCYL will strengthen our national capacity to defend student rights, strengthen the technical infrastructure behind local and national advocacy, and invest in a diverse, intergenerational workforce rooted in both legal expertise and community-grounded strategies.

Background on Public Education Defense Fund and EDF Fellowship Program

The Trump administration's actions are causing an exodus of experienced civil rights professionals from government service. These individuals represent an invaluable resource—bringing in-depth knowledge of enforcement mechanisms, case histories, and established relationships that could dramatically accelerate NYCL’s capacity to step into the breach and protect students’ civil rights.

NYCL recognizes and respects the expertise that these individuals bring to the fight for civil rights and created this fellowship as a part of its recently launched Public Education Defense Fund. NCYL is uniquely situated to fill in the gap left behind by the effectively shuttered federal offices charged with protecting the civil rights of students through enforcement, advocacy, and education. NCYL’s EDF brings together law, policy, research, and community partnerships, all guided by young people’s experiences, to drive meaningful, lasting change.

EDF will help create meaningful and substantive enforcement pathways and provide technical assistance and direct support to affected students and families. EDF includes five key components in addition to the Public Education Defense Fund Fellowships:  Promoting Public Education, Defending Student Civil Rights, Creation of a Student Pro Bono Defense Network, Tracking Educational Civil Rights Data, and Supporting the Education Strategy Legal Council.

Public Education Defense Fund Fellowships

The Senior Legal Fellows contracted through the EDF Fellowship will support different components of the EDF. Below are some examples of the scope of work that Senior Legal Fellows may be asked to support, but we are also open to new proposals and projects that are consistent with EDF’s mission to protect and advance student civil rights in the absence of federal advocacy or enforcement.

• Promoting Public Education: Public education is the foundation of our democracy and EDF will identify threats to public funding and monitor the use of new technologies and their impact on civil rights protections for all students, including those from under-resourced and traditionally marginalized backgrounds. Fellows may coordinate with the NCYL litigation team on the development of legal strategies to protect, advance, and support public education systems across the country.
• Defending Student Civil Rights: EDF is in the process of developing state-specific guidance and assessment tools for families and will seek input and advice from Senior Fellows on this guidance. EDF will look to Senior Legal Fellows for their support and recommendations in developing trainings for state offices that enforce civil rights protections under federal and state law, and for support in developing a network of student-led and student-centered advocacy organizations.
• Creation of a Student Pro Bono Defense Network: As EDF builds this network, Senior Legal Fellows will help develop the training and oversight mechanisms necessary for pro bono support of students.
• Tracking and Reporting Educational Civil Rights Data: EDF will look to Senior Legal Fellows for their expertise with respect to the design of an accessible, safe, and independent reporting mechanism for documenting student civil rights violations. Former government leaders understand what worked and did not with respect to data collection at the federal level, and how that data can be used to support enforcement of civil rights now and a more effective enforcement regime in the future.
• Supporting the Education Strategy Legal Council: Senior Legal Fellows will be uniquely situated to ensure that we are able to utilize the expertise of senior education and civil rights experts from across the country to enforce the civil rights of students across the country.

Senior Legal Fellows will help ensure that all components of the EDF remain accountable to the needs of affected students and families. Senior Legal Fellows can help ensure that we gather and follow student and caregiver input throughout to help ensure accountability.

We will create an alumni network of Senior Fellows to support each other and the work going forward.

Importantly, NCYL respects the expertise these Senior Legal Fellows bring to the EDF Fellowship Program and looks forward to receiving proposals for advancing the mission of EDF.