Texas Appleseed

Check out this AMAZING blog post by my incredible social work intern Ana Luisa Murillo-Trejo! Her heart and passion for education justice shines through in her writing and is such an inspiration??

Ana Luisa Murillo-Trejo shares her experiences in tackling the school-to-prison pipeline as a Social Work intern with the Education Justice Project at Texas Appleseed. In her blog post, she talks about how the current system is set up to make students fail, rather than succeed, through the use of DAEPs (disciplinary alternative education programs). These DAEPs overwhelmingly affect minorities and further isolate them in the criminal justice system. Ana Luisa and her colleagues on the Education Justice team call for a limit on DAEP referrals and investment in social workers and mental health supports. Read more from Ana Luisa’s blog post below: https://lnkd.in/gddFS8K6

We extend our sincere gratitude to our Board President, Gina DeBottis Metts, and her husband, Mark Metts, for hosting our Seeds of Justice reception on March 6th. The reception brought together our staff, board members, pro bono partners, and supporters for an inspiring gathering that included hearing from guest speaker Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare and learning about our critical policy goals for the current state legislative session and beyond.

Last week, our #EducationJustice youth fellows met with legislators to share their experiences as students and educators. They testified on ??the harms of removing students from classrooms; ??the drawbacks of virtual learning; ??and the need for evidence-based drug education programs instead of getting pushed out of class for vaping. Youth voices should be involved in shaping education policy in #Texas. We’re grateful for the opportunity to mentor and encourage the next generation of advocates using their voice to promote accessible learning for all Texans.

We greatly appreciated the opportunity we had to present our work to students at the Liberal Arts Career Fair held at The University of Texas at Austin. Laura Robinson, our grants manager, was excited that many students expressed interest in pursuing justice work after hearing about our accomplishments in making Texas laws fairer.

Jamie Sauer, our Development Director, had the incredible opportunity to connect with dedicated nonprofit leaders from across Central Texas at the SS&E Leaders and Legacies Workshop. A heartfelt thank-you to Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) group for bringing together passionate changemakers committed to community impact.

Texas is doubling down on a failed juvenile justice system -- where children waste away in costly, ineffective prisons. Former state Rep and Texas Workforce Commissioner Bill Hammond calls for smart policy reforms that address the failures of our juvenile justice system. This means investment in evidence-based solutions that address the root of young people’s needs: rehabilitation, mental health care, and access to education. Texas can choose to continue funding the failing large-scale facilities or invest in a system that protects children and helps them succeed. Read Hammond’s op-ed in the Austin American-Statesman: https://lnkd.in/gqHZRiSP

Earlier this month, Texas Appleseed hosted a two-day event designed to educate on and advance #CriminalJustice reform. The first day was our advocacy training for system-impacted individuals and community organizers on how to empower Texans to use their voice for policy change. Presentations focused on understanding the legislative process, navigating TLO, and championing bills in committee. The following day, we hosted a reentry simulation designed to replicate the barriers that formerly incarcerated individuals encounter when reintegrating into society for staffers, legislators, and stakeholders. Thank you to everyone who attended and our partners (ACLU of Texas, Con Safos Counseling, LLC, Texas Federation of the People Foundation, Gateway Alliance Project, & Texas Harm Reduction Alliance) for helping us put on these events!

Texas Appleseed staff held two briefings on bills related to our priority issue areas in fair financial services, fair housing, disaster planning, criminal justice, youth homelessness, juvenile justice, and education justice. Thank you to everyone who joined these legislative briefings! We’re excited to begin our work in the 89th Legislative Session advocating to improve the lives of all Texans.

Last month, our #CriminalJustice Policy Analyst Cole M. attended and presented at a Court Text Reminders convening hosted by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Cole sat on a panel to discuss Texas Appleseed's advocacy efforts in the 88th legislative session, where we successfully allocated funding in our state budget to construct a text message reminder system for Texas courts. This practice is shown to reduce failure to appear rates in court by more than a quarter, improving administrative efficiency while increasing compliance. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen!