Data on Boston’s Exam Schools →

We are in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis affecting all families and students. We applaud the City of Boston and Boston Public Schools (BPS) for their life-saving support for families and students in this crisis. As the pandemic continues to unfold, we are well aware that urgent...

Coronavirus Legal Warriors →

As legal first responders, at a time when many doors are closing, we are opening ours wider. In response to an unprecedented need, we're adding a new coronavirus legal warrior to our team. This expansion is critical to deepening and expanding free support for affected families, including help with unemployment...

Legal Responses to COVID-19 →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) is launching a comprehensive legal and policy initiative across immigration, education, housing and the census to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on our most vulnerable communities. Specifically, we are advocating to: Secure demographic and racial data on coronavirus infections and death. Stop immigration raids,...

Emergency Measures Needed →

As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds rapidly, it is imperative that state and local policy leaders enact emergency measures that will protect the most vulnerable populations. For those with higher incomes and more social supports, the sudden changes in daily life due to the pandemic will be inconvenient and disruptive. But...

Boston’s New ICE Policy Excludes Community Voices →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) condemns the City of Boston’s effort to move forward with critical policy decisions surrounding Boston Public Schools (BPS) and Boston Police Department (BPD) entanglement with ICE via the Boston Regional Information Center (BRIC) without vital community support. SIM, Unafraid Educators, and other key stakeholders have been...

Support for Black Lives Matter at School Week →

Earlier this week, Michael Leary, President of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association (BPPA), opposed the Boston Teachers Union’s (BTU) support of Black Lives Matter At School Week—an annual week of action organized by a national coalition working for racial justice in education. Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) condemns the BPPA’s...

Smoking Gun Reveals Extent of Boston’s Intentional Exclusion of Students of Color from Exam Schools →

Test Maker Slams Boston for “Misapplication” of Exam and “Refusal” to Make Needed Reforms In a bombshell announcement, the makers of the test used by Boston Public Schools (BPS) in its exam school admissions process disclosed that it repeatedly warned BPS that it was misusing the test in a manner that...

Entanglement Between Boston Public Schools and ICE →

BPS Must Shut Down School-to-Deportation Pipeline Immediately Documents secured in a lawsuit brought by civil rights and education advocates show far more extensive interactions between Boston Public Schools (BPS) and federal immigration enforcement than the City has previously admitted. Since 2014, at least 135 student incident reports generated by BPS...

2019 Annual Report →

Check out our latest work. Our 2019 year-in-review is available here: [pdf-embedder url="http://lawyersforcivilrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2019-Annual-Report-DIGITAL.pdf" title="2019 Annual Report DIGITAL"]

Victory! Federal Court Upholds Harvard’s Admissions Policy →

Victory! Federal Court Upholds Harvard's Admissions Policy LCR Represents Diverse Group Of Students And Alumni Who Testified At Trial In Support Of Race-Conscious Admissions Federal Judge Allison D. Burroughs issued a landmark ruling today in favor of Harvard University in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard. Today’s decision strongly reaffirms...

Ropes & Gray Justice Fellowship →

Ropes & Gray Launches Justice Fellowship at Lawyers for Civil Rights Legal Fellowship Builds On Successful Pro Bono Partnership in Landmark Voting Rights Case Global law firm Ropes & Gray today announced the creation of the Ropes & Gray Justice Fellowship at Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR), a Boston-based legal...

Commemorating School Integration In Boston →

  This Fall, Boston's public schools will welcome its 45th integrated class. Students from diverse backgrounds will be learning and growing with and from each other. This accomplishment would have been unimaginable decades ago, and is worthy of celebration. Our schools were integrated by Morgan v. Hennigan, a landmark case...

School Funding Lawsuit Against State Officials →

If you are the parent of a child enrolled in a public school in Fall River, Chelsea, Chicopee, Springfield, Lowell, Haverhill, or Orange, please contact Lauren Sampson at lsampson@lawyersforcivilrights.org to find out how you can help secure additional resources for your child's future.  More than a dozen parents from across...

Weaponizing The Census Would Hurt Massachusetts →

Weaponizing The Census Would Hurt Massachusetts This op-ed by was published by WBUR's Cognoscenti. It’s tempting, in the wake of the Mueller report and the onslaught of news stories about rogue aides and Russian corruption, to focus on scandalous elements of the Trump administration. But none of these scandals have...

Solutions & Strategies to Diversify Boston’s Exam Schools →

Community Forum: Solutions and Strategies to Diversify Boston's Exam Schools WHAT: Community Forum on Diversifying Boston's Exam Schools WHO: Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR); the NAACP Boston Branch; and more than a dozen community groups. Speakers will include: Boston City Councilor Kim Janey Iván Espinoza-Madrigal of Lawyers for Civil Rights...

Community Forum on Exam Schools on Feb. 28 in Roxbury →

Condemning Trump Administration’s Assault On Anti-Discrimination Protections →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Condemns Trump Administration’s Assault On Anti-Discrimination Protections  As part of its ongoing rollback of civil rights protections, the Trump Administration is directing Justice Department officials to look for ways to eliminate one of the most potent tools of civil rights advocacy: the disparate impact doctrine. Lawyers for Civil...

Response to Anticipated Rollback of Federal Discipline Policies →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Responds to Trump Administration’s Anticipated Rollback of Discipline Policies The U.S. Department of Education is expected to rescind policies created to ensure that schoolchildren of color do not receive disproportionate discipline. Following the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the...