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2024 Education Law & Policy Conference

A New Civil Rights Movement in Education?

September 11, 2024

This conference is SOLD OUT.

This year's Education Law & Policy Conference will examine the legal and policy issues facing education in the United States centering on the theme "A New Civil Rights Movement in Education?"

The conference will take place on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. and will feature a full day of programming, including panels, addresses, lunch, and a closing reception.

Location

The Mayflower Hotel

1127 Connecticut Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20036 

Addresses

Luncheon Speaker:

Hon. Glenn Youngkin

Governor of Virginia

Schedule

Welcome and Introductions 9:00 - 9:15am

An Armchair Conversation on the State of Civil Rights on Campus 9:15 am  - 10:15 am

Plenary Session 1: Title IX: Gender Identity and So Much More 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Luncheon Address & Networking Lunch 12:15-1:30 pm

Plenary Session 2: Race and Education After Students for Fair Admissions 1:45 pm - 3:15 pm

Plenary Session 3: A Discussion on the Right: Parental Rights in Education 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Closing Reception 5:15 pm -6:15pm

Speakers Announced to Date

  • Luke Berg, Deputy Counsel, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
  • Vernadette R. Broyles, President and General Counsel, Child & Parental Rights Campaign
  • Mark Chenoweth, President and Chief Legal Officer, New Civil Liberties Alliance
  • Dean Todd J. Clark, Dean and Professor of Law, Widener University Delaware Law School
  • Charles C. W. Cooke, Senior Editor, National Review
  • Dean andré douglas pond cummings, Dean and Professor of Law, Widener University Commonwealth Law School
  • William A. Estrada, Senior Counsel, Home School Legal Defense Association
  • Ben Gibson, Partner, Shutts & Bowen LLP
  • U.S. Congresswoman Harriet Hageman, (WY-00)
  • Candice Jackson, Partner, Jackson Bone LLP; Former Acting Assistant Secretary, US Department of Education
  • Prof. KC Johnson, Professor of History, Brooklyn College
  • Prof. Richard D. Kahlenberg, Director of the American Identity Project, The Progressive Policy Institute; Professorial Lecturer, George Washington University
  • Hon. Steven Menashi, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
  • Cameron T. Norris, Partner, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC
  • Scott Schneider, Owner, Schneider Education & Employment Law PLLC
  • Ilya Shapiro, Director of Constitutional Studies, Manhattan Institute
  • Alison Somin, Senior Legal Fellow, Pacific Legal Foundation
  • Thomas S. Vaseliou, Associate, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC

 Cost:

  • Conference (Member)--$25
  • Conference (Non-Member)--$50
  • Conference with CLE Credit (Member)--$50
  • Conference with CLE Credit (Non-Member)--$75

 

Press:

PRESS: Please email TJ Winer at ([email protected]) to register.

Registration Notes:

No refunds for this event will be issued after 09/04/24.

Registration for this event will close at noon (12:00 ET) 09/09/24.

All attendees may be required to present identification for admission.

 

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9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
Welcome and Introductions
   
Topics: Education Policy
State Room
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006

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Event Video

Speakers

9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
An Armchair Conversation on the State of Civil Rights on Campus
   
Topics: Civil Rights • Education Policy
State Room
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006

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Event Video

Description

The Manhattan Institute’s Director of Constitutional Studies Ilya Shapiro and Senior Editor at National Review Charles C.W. Cooke will discuss the seeming trend towards illiberalism in education and what it means for the future of the legal profession and the molding of the country’s future leaders. The wide-ranging conversation will center on themes from Mr. Shapiro’s forthcoming book—Lawless: The Miseducation of America’s Elites—including how education administrations interact with free speech, free inquiry, and academic freedom in the service of a civil rights agenda that is arguably polarizing America’s law schools and elite institutions of higher education and transforming the leadership class of the United States.

Featuring:

  • Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow and Director of Constitutional Studies, Manhattan Institute
  • (Moderator) Charles C. W. Cooke, Senior Editor, National Review

Speakers

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Plenary Session 1: Title IX: Gender Identity and So Much More
   
Topics: Administrative Law & Regulation • Civil Rights • Education Policy • Religious Liberty • Religious Liberties
State Room
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006

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Event Video

Description

The Biden administration contends that the U.S. Department of Education’s final Title IX regulations published on April 29, 2024, require what Title IX has always required: the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex in America’s federally funded K–12 schools, colleges, and universities. According to opponents of the regulations, the Education Department’s regulations, which prohibit discrimination in education on the basis of gender identity, undercut Title IX’s original promise. Perhaps less discussed is the extent to which the regulations may infringe on free speech, religious liberty, due process, and the rights of parents. In light of this deep divide, this panel will examine what the regulations actually require and how they may alter the status quo in educational institutions. The panel will also offer an update on the ongoing litigation challenging the regulations and offer perspectives on how the Title IX regime might look after the courts have had their say.

Featuring:

  • Hon. Harriet Hageman, U.S. Representative, Wyoming
  • Candice Jackson, Former Acting Assistant Secretary, US Department of Education; Partner, Jackson Bone LLP, U.S. Department of Education
  • Prof. KC Johnson, Professor of History, Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center
  • Scott Schneider, Owner, Schneider Education & Employment Law PLLC
  • (Moderator) Mark Chenoweth, President and General Counsel, New Civil Liberties Alliance

 

Speakers

12:15 p.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Luncheon Address
   
Topics: Education Policy • Federalism • State Governments
Grand Ballroom
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006

Event Video

Speakers

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Networking Lunch
   
Grand Ballroom
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006

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1:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Plenary Session 2: Race and Education After Students for Fair Admissions
   
Topics: Education Policy • Supreme Court
State Room
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006

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Event Video

Description

Last year’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard was a decisive turning point in the Supreme Court’s application of the Equal Protection Clause to the consideration of race in college admissions. Only months later, however, the Court dealt a blow to the hopes of opponents of race-based admissions policies in K–12 schools by declining to hear Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board, leaving for another day a decision whether nominally race-neutral policies imposed by educational institutions for the purpose of achieving a desired racial balance in student enrollment are in accordance with SFFA’s mandate. This panel will discuss the state of the law regarding race-conscious admissions in the wake of these two cases; debate the impact of SFFA on ongoing and prospective race discrimination cases; and highlight important cases to watch in this area of the law.

Featuring:

  • Dean Todd Clark, Dean, Delaware Law School
  • Dean andré douglas pond cummings, Dean, Widener University Commonwealth Law School
  • Richard D. Kahlenberg, Director of Housing Policy and the American Identity Project, Progressive Policy Institute
  • Cameron Norris, Partner, Consovoy McCarthy
  • Alison E. Somin, Legal Fellow, Center for the Separation of Powers, Pacific Legal Foundation
  • (Moderator) Hon. Steven J. Menashi, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

 

Speakers

3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Plenary Session 3: A Discussion on the Right: Parental Rights in Education
   
Topics: Civil Rights • Due Process • Education Policy
State Room
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington , DC 20006

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Event Video

Description

Next year marks a century since the Supreme Court concluded in Pierce v. Society of Sisters that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees to parents the right to direct the upbringing and education of their children. During the past several decades, however, the Court has declined to grant certiorari to review federal court of appeals decisions that have potentially weakened parental rights. More recently, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents have raised concerns that local school districts and school boards have implemented controversial policies regarding race and sex despite intense opposition from, and at times without the knowledge of, parents. This panel will consist of attorneys active in parental rights litigation discussing the state of the parental rights movement today, recent federal and state litigation on the issue, and the steps that legislatures might take to enshrine parental rights in law. The panel will also consider the tensions and pitfalls of bringing parental rights cases, as well as what the future has in store for Pierce as the case nears its centennial.

Featuring:

  • Luke Berg, Deputy Counsel, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
  • Vernadette R. Broyles, President, General Counsel, and Founder, Child and Parental Rights Campaign, Inc.
  • William Anthony Estrada, Senior Counsel, Home School Legal Defense Association
  • Thomas S. Vaseliou, Associate, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC
  • (Moderator) Ben Gibson, Partner, Shutts & Bowen LLP

Speakers

5:15 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.
Closing Reception
   
The Chinese Room
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20006

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