Get Help
The Right to Education Project supports North Carolina children and families with the following issue areas at school: (1) enrollment and access, (2) long-term suspension, expulsion, and alternative school placements, (3) special education and disability-related needs, and (4) discrimination and harassment. You can contact us through the Legal Aid Helpline listed below.
Before calling our Helpline, we strongly recommend going to the Resources section below, clicking on the Issue Area that you will be calling about, and (1) trying out the suggested advocacy strategies listed, (2) reading the Advocacy Toolkits and (3) watching the videos. Our team has limited capacity to take on individual cases, so each ‘Issue Area’ page provides strategies to support your child that you can do without a lawyer.
Legal Aid NC Helpline
Toll-Free: 1 (866) 219-LANC (5262)
8:30 AM – 1:30 PM, Monday – Friday
5:30 PM – 8:30 PM, Monday & Thursday
Apply for free help with civil (non-criminal) legal issues. Those 60 and older should call the Senior Helpline.
Community Education
REP conducts online workshops on many education-related issue areas, including those we cannot provide individual representation on such as short-term suspensions and bullying. During these trainings, we provide a general overview of education rights related to these topics and answer general questions. Look at Legal Aid NC Events for upcoming events, and Videos for recordings of past sessions.
For community organizations, service providers, or other groups that work with students and families, REP can provide trainings or ‘office hours’, or tabling at certain community events. Click below to learn more about trainings we can offer groups, and to request tabling, training, or office hours with our team.
Resources
Resources
Projects
If you call Legal Aid of North Carolina for an education related issue, you will be connected to the Right to Education Project. In addition to providing Direct Advocacy, we also engage with our community’s education-related needs through Community Education and Community Lawyering.
Right to Education Project
The Right to Education Project (REP) is the statewide education justice project of Legal Aid of North Carolina that fights for students in the public education system to get access…
Videos
Videos
Know your rights and remedies in public schools
Ruth & Education
Ruth & The Child's Advocate
Ruth & Advocates for Children's Services
Making a Difference in Children's Lives
Coronavirus and Schools: For Guardians ad Litem
Coronavirus & Public Schools in North Carolina
Conozca Sus Derechos en las Escuelas Públicas de Carolina del Norte durante Coronavirus
Know Your Special Education Rights in North Carolina Public Schools during Coronavirus
Know Your Rights in North Carolina Public Schools during Coronavirus
Conozca Sus derechos de Educación Especial en las Escuelas Públicas de NC durante Coronavirus
About The Child's Advocate
NC Extra Credit Grant: Get $335 for virtual schooling and childcare costs
Overcoming Barriers to School Enrollment
Parent Power 101
Zealous Advocacy in Special Education
Understanding MTSS and how it can support your student
Legal & Restorative Strategies to Address Bullying
Creative Strategies to Combat School Discipline
News
Right to Education Project files federal racial-discrimination complaint against Davidson County Schools
DAVIDSON COUNTY – Our Right to Education Project filed a federal complaint today with the…
Deadline extended for Extra Credit Grant program
Complaints resolved against Guilford, Vance schools
RALEIGH—Legal Aid of North Carolina’s systemic state complaints against Guilford County Schools and Vance County…
Education denied to students with disabilities in adult jails
RALEIGH—Prompted by complaints filed by our Advocates for Children’s Services project, the North Carolina Department…
Agreement reached to address discriminatory discipline in Durham Public Schools
Black children and children with disabilities at center of complaint DURHAM | Feb. 22, 2018…
New Wake County suspension data reveals lower overall rates, but significant disparities remain
RALEIGH, N.C., December 9, 2014 – Out-of-school suspensions in the Wake County Public School System…
N.C. youth advocates urge U.S. Department of Education to address continued discriminatory discipline practices in Wake County schools
RALEIGH, January 5, 2017 – Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Advocates for Children’s Services project joined…
Shaw University to change discriminatory policies for disabled students
RALEIGH, July 14, 2015 – Shaw University will revise its discriminatory policies and procedures for…
Wake Co. schools routinely violate rights of students with mental health disabilities
RALEIGH · July 25, 2018 – Attorneys with Advocates for Children’s Services, a project of…
Events
