At the Pro Bono Institute (PBI) 2025 Annual Conference, two powerful case studies highlighted how pro bono and public interest lawyers are driving systemic reform to improve education for students with disabilities. These sessions offered attendees the opportunity to learn from groundbreaking litigation and advocacy and encouraged them to get involved in this important work.
Recordings of these sessions are now available upon request by emailing PBI staff.
Case Study #1: The Missing School Bus – Transportation and the Rights of Students with Disabilities
In a compelling session, panelists discussed their recent class action lawsuit challenging the District of Columbia’s ongoing failure to provide safe, reliable transportation and access to education for more than 4,000 students with disabilities. For these students, chronic transportation breakdowns have resulted in missed instruction and therapies, as well as prolonged absences—violations that undermine their fundamental right to an equitable education. Students have also endured long bus rides without access to food, water, medication, or bathrooms, compounding the harm caused by these systemic failures.
The lawsuit, brought by the nonprofit The Arc of the United States and five families of students with various disabilities who attend DC schools, United States District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the DC Human Rights Act. The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of students with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 22 who relied on school transportation over the past three years. The complaint alleges DC’s systemic failure to provide safe, reliable, and appropriate services.
The panel discussion, featuring and Chris Shoemaker, Lawyer, McDermott Will & Emery*, Chelsea Sullivan, Associate Counsel, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs; Kathy Zeisel, Director of Special Legal Projects, Children’s Law Center; addressed the collaborative approach among co-counsel, the role of pro bono attorneys in advancing systemic civil rights claims, and key lessons learned throughout administrative and federal litigation.
The panelists emphasized how pro bono attorneys were instrumental in handling the administrative due process hearings that laid the groundwork for the class action, offering junior law firm lawyers valuable trial experience. They encouraged pro bono attorneys to take on similar matters, where they can make a meaningful difference while gaining practical litigation skills.
Case Study #2: Advocating for the Educational Rights of Confined Youth
Another illuminating session at the PBI Annual Conference focused on the critical and often overlooked educational challenges faced by incarcerated youth ages 16-22 with special education needs, both during and after incarceration.
Rachel Goodman, Senior Staff Attorney at the School Justice Project, described how court-involved students face significant barriers to accessing education. These students are routinely denied the education they are entitled to under the law and often lack the legal assistance necessary to enforce their rights. In 2023, the DC Superior Court established a panel to appoint special education attorneys in criminal cases involving “emerging adult defendants” ages 16-22. School Justice Project is a lead provider of special education legal representation on this panel.
Goodman emphasized how access to appropriate education can and should be integrated into a holistic public defense strategy. Many of these youth have cycled through multiple schools, experienced homelessness, have limited literacy, or face communication challenges, all of which can go unrecognized by the defense team. A special education legal advocate can bring a critical disability lens, helping to shape a more accurate and compassionate understanding of the client.
For example, teachers and school records can provide pro bono attorneys with insights that positively influence how a client is presented in court during status hearings, presentence reports, sentencing, and probation proceedings. Moreover, securing educational services for youth during incarceration supports long-term outcomes and successful reintegration into the community.
Pro bono opportunities in DC include co-counseling cases with School Justice Project attorneys and serving as first chair. Pro bono counsel can participate in due process hearings, administrative law hearings, and appeals to federal district court. There are also remote opportunities for volunteers nationwide to assist with legal research and writing to support motions and briefing on key legal issues.
PBI was proud to host these Conference sessions, which underscored the power of legal advocacy to drive systemic reform and highlighted the essential role of pro bono lawyers in protecting the rights of students with disabilities.
To watch these PBI Annual Conference sessions and learn more, please contact PBI staff. To access additional programming from the PBI 2025 Annual Conference, please visit the PBI website.
| PBI staff are already planning for the PBI 2026 Annual Conference, which will be held in Washington, D.C. on March 4 – 6. Do you have an idea for the 2026 Conference? We encourage pro bono leaders to submit your session proposals and ideas for the PBI 2026 Annual Conference. |
* denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® signatory
** denotes a Corporate Pro Bono Challenge® signatory
† denotes a Law Firm Pro Bono Project® member