Date:
- Saturday, November 9, 2019
Location:
- Duarte Senior Center, 1610 Huntington Dr. Duarte, CA 91010
Parking:
- Parking is free at the Duarte Senior Center.
Schedule:
- 9:00 - 9:30 am - Networking & Refreshments
- 9:30 - 11:30 am – Special Education & Regional Center Policy Panel (Ann Kinkor moderator, Jyoti Nanda, Devon Rios, and Megan Stanton-Trehan) & Regional Advocates Panel
- 11:30 - 1:00 pm - Constituent Q&A with Assembly Members Offices
- 1:00 - 2:30 pm - Assembly Members' Mobile Office Hours
Co-Hosts:
- Assemblywoman Blanca E. Rubio - District 48
- Epilepsy Foundation
- The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy & Innovation
Attendees:
- Parent, guardian and advocates of special education students
- Self-advocates
- Assemblymember Office Representatives
- Regional Center Representatives
- Other advocates, including special education parent groups
Speaker Bios:
Jyoti Nanda is an Associate Professor of Law at Golden Gate University (GGU) School of Law where she teaches Criminal Law, Evidence, and Juvenile Law. Her research and writing is at the intersections of gender, race, disability, education, and juvenile justice. She seeks to make meaningful doctrinal interventions in disability and criminal law. Professor Nanda is currently involved in an education project to address the knowledge gaps about the justice system for youth in the Los Angeles delinquency system that she plans to scale statewide. The American Bar Association (ABA) nominated Nanda in 2016 to serve as the Reporter for the forthcoming ABA Juvenile Justice National Standards. She taught at UCLA for 16 years. Prior to joining the faculty at UCLA School of Law, Nanda was awarded a Skadden Fellowship to work as a staff attorney in civil rights at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational, Fund. Inc. (LDF). Born in Nairobi, she is a proud immigrant and the daughter of parents who were refugees and immigrants from Pakistan/India and Kenya.
Devon Rios has been a staunch child advocate with the passion and experience necessary to guide families at all stages of special education advocacy for over 10 years. After receiving her undergraduate degree in Sociology from UCLA, Magna Cum Laude with departmental honors, Devon attended the UCLA School of Law. Shortly thereafter, she began her legal career with as a prestigious Munger, Tolles & Olson Equal Justice Works Fellow, providing representation to families seeking access to early education intervention for their children. Through this fellowship, Devon founded the East Los Angeles 3-7 Project, laying the groundwork for intensive parent special education advocacy trainings still operating in East Los Angeles today under the auspice of the TIGER Program at Learning Rights Law Center. Immediately after, Devon continued her service at the Learning Rights Law Center as a community empowerment and advocacy program Director continuing her passion to serve special needs families. Devon’s special education law expertise is matched by her experience in civil litigation, where she has represented clients in litigation matters focusing on complex insurance benefit recovery for public agencies. With this background, Devon possesses the sensitivity necessary to preserve and protect valued relationships with your special needs students’ circle of support coupled with the experience and ability to strategize and execute a litigation path if necessary.
Megan Stanton-Trehan is an Adjunct Professor and the Director of the Youth Justice Education Clinic ("YJEC") at Loyola Law School. She represents system-involved youth in special education, school discipline, and regional center proceedings. Through YJEC, she seeks to train the next generation of public interest lawyers to advocate for youth. Stanton-Trehan has extensive experience in public interest law and policy focusing on education issues for system-involved youth. She previously worked as a staff attorney in the Education Program at the Alliance for Children's Rights ("ACR"), directly serving clients and simultaneously supporting ACR's local and state policy initiatives. Prior to her time at ACR, she worked for the California Department of Finance in the Education Systems Unit focusing on implementing Governor Brown’s signature education finance reform the Local Control Funding Formula (“LCFF”). Stanton-Trehan started her legal career as a staff attorney at Legal Services of Northern California. Stanton-Trehan is a passionate advocate for youth and a firm believer in the power of education to change the lives of the most vulnerable in our community. She is a graduate of UCLA Law and UC Berkeley.