"Deconstructing the School-to-Prison Pipeline" 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Friday, March 25, 2011 Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium RSVP for this event at http://events.wayne.edu/rsvp/deconstructing-the-school-to-prison-pipeline/#rsvp.

The symposium will examine the phenomenon of the school-to-prison pipeline, which refers to the policies and practices that systemically push at-risk youth out of mainstream public schools and into the juvenile or criminal justice systems.

Damon T. Hewitt, director of the Education Practice at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, will give the morning keynote address, and Russlynn H. Ali, assistant secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, will give the afternoon keynote address. The event also will feature the following confirmed panelists:

Panel I - Lost opportunities: The criminalization of students

• Mark P. Fancher, staff attorney, ACLU of Michigan Racial Justice Project
• Alexi Nunn Freeman, staff attorney, Advancement Project
• Jeffrey L. Edison, attorney, National Conference of Black Lawyers
• I. India Geronimo, director, Damon J. Keith Law Collection of African American Legal History at Wayne Law

Panel II - Creating an educational environment

• Bill Sower, former regional coordinator, International Institute for Restorative Practices
• Hon. Jennifer Pilette, Wayne County Third Circuit Court Family Division
• Johanna Wald, director, Strategic Planning and Development, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice

Panel III - Structuring legal reform

• Justin Long, assistant professor, Wayne State University Law School
• Kary L. Moss, executive director, ACLU of Michigan
• Daniel J. Losen, senior education law and policy associate, the Civil Rights Project at UCLA
• Jessica Feierman, supervising attorney, Juvenile Law Center

Event registration will begin at 9 a.m. Attendees will break for lunch at 12:15-1:30 p.m. and enjoy a closing reception at 5-6:30 p.m. Visit http://law.wayne.edu/journaloflawinsociety/symposium.php for a full agenda.

This event is free and open to the public. RSVP at http://events.wayne.edu/rsvp/deconstructing-the-school-to-prison-pipeline/#rsvp.

For more information about this event, please contact the Law School dean's office at (313) 577-3933 or send an e-mail to thejournal@wayne.edu.