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Tyler Whittenberg

Chief Counsel, Justice System Reform
tyler@scsj.org

Tyler Whittenberg joined Southern Coalition for Social Justice in 2020 to lead the Justice System Reform program. Prior to joining South Coalition for Social Justice, Tyler was Deputy Director of Advancement Project’s Ending the Schoolhouse-to-Jailhouse Track project. In this role, he supported grassroots campaigns led by youth of color fighting to end the criminalization of Black and Brown students and create learning environments that are reflective of the world they envision for themselves.

Tyler’s entire career has been dedicated to ending the school-to-prison pipeline and dismantling oppressive structures systematically imposed upon Black and Brown youth. He began his career as an 8th grade social studies teacher in Columbia, South Carolina. He then received a masters degree in Politics and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, focusing on school-to-prison pipeline issues and the growing effort to privatize public education. Tyler subsequently advocated for students’ rights as an Education Policy Fellow with the North Carolina Justice Center’s Education Law Project.

Tyler graduated from Tulane University Law School after completing an Ella Baker Fellowship with the Center for Constitutional Rights. Throughout law school, he co-directed Stand Up for Each Other (SUFEO)—a student-led organization representing youth who were suspended and expelled from public schools in New Orleans. For these efforts, Tyler was awarded the Louisiana State Bar Association’s 2014 Student Pro Bono Award. Tyler also advocated for the rights of youth in the justice and foster care systems as a Staff Attorney with the Youth Law Center and helped jurisdictions throughout the U.S. reduce racial and ethnic disparities in youth-serving systems while a Site Manager with the W. Haywood Burns Institute.

Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Partnering with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the south to defend and advance their political, social and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing and communications.

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CARES Act Vulnerable Students Letter

The Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ), in partnership with three organizations focused on racial and educational justice, is urging North Carolina to use $95.6 million in education funds earmarked for the state in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to benefit the most vulnerable students. These vulnerable student populations include students of color, economically disadvantaged students, children with disabilities, homeless students, immigrant students and youth in foster care and the juvenile justice system. Among the suggested uses for the funding are purchasing laptops or tablets for students who do not have them, creating quiet learning environments for students who are homeless or in foster care and providing training for students and teachers on how to better utilize technology for remote learning.

April 20, 2020 by Kareem Crayton Focus Area: Youth Justice Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Apr. 20, 2020

For media inquiries:
Michelle Rash
mrash@rlfcommunications.com
336-553-1733 (office)
336-823-5501 (mobile)

Durham, N.C. — The Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ), in partnership with three other organizations focused on racial and educational justice, is urging North Carolina to use $95.6 million in education funds earmarked for the state in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to benefit the most vulnerable students.

In a letter sent to Mark Johnson, superintendent of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, the organizations ask the state to use the money to benefit students of color, economically disadvantaged students, children with disabilities, homeless students, immigrant students and youth in foster care and the juvenile justice system. Among the suggested uses for the funding are purchasing laptops or tablets for students who do not have them, creating quiet learning environments for students who are homeless or in foster care and providing training for students and teachers on how to better utilize technology for remote learning.

Many school districts require student and parental consent to monitor the use of technology provided by the school. The letter to the state Board of Education also requests that requirement be waived since, during a time of distance learning, such technology is no longer optional and monitoring could violate students’ right to privacy and Fourth Amendment rights.

“North Carolina has a constitutional obligation to provide a sound, basic education to all students. That requirement does not disappear when hardships arise. It is the state’s responsibility to ensure that the most vulnerable students have access to a quality public education that supports their academic, physical, mental and social wellbeing,” said Tyler Whittenberg, Chief Counsel for Justice Systems Reform at SCSJ. “This federal funding creates an opportunity for the state to provide these students with the technology and resources necessary to learn and feel supported during these unprecedented times.”

The federal CARES Act, a stimulus package to help governments, businesses and individuals impacted by COVID-19, includes $3 billion in grants to states to support educational needs.

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The Southern Coalition for Social Justice, founded in 2007, partners with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the South to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing and communications. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Twitter and Facebook.

Key Contact

Tyler Whittenberg, Chief Counsel, Justice System Reform
tyler@scsj.org

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