Youth Justice Education Clinic staff attorney Vivian Wong and student Drew Jorgensen '22 met “Angel” when he was a high-school junior. After advocating for an evaluation of Angel’s education needs, YJEC helped Angel obtain long overdue special education and related services, including the court-ordered counseling that enabled him to complete a condition of probation. These services, combined with Angel’s educational progress, gave Juvenile Justice Clinic student Clara Perez ‘22 the ammo she needed to successfully request the juvenile court to end its informal supervision of Angel.
YJEC’s work didn’t stop with Angel’s graduation, however! The LAUSD’s failure to properly identify, evaluate, and make Angel eligible for special education and related services for many years led to Drew writing and filing a due process complaint against the district, seeking additional compensatory services for Angel.
YJEC and JJC celebrated this Spring as Angel graduated from high school. He is now on his way to college, where he plans to study business administration to support his goal of becoming an entrepreneur. Angel is one of 5 YJEC clients who graduated from high school in 2021. This is particularly impressive given the challenges faced by so many students during remote learning this year. We congratulate Angel and all of our graduating clients!