What Exactly Is the National Student Legal Defense Network?
A national initiative started in 2014, the National Student Legal Defense Network (NSLDN) is an attempt to protect the rights of students. Through free legal clinics, voluntary attorney staff, and a devoted effort from those who form the NSLDN, student rights were given a new avenue of recourse when the system failed them. In the founding principles of the NSLDN you can read what the end goal was—"for every student to fully understand, pursue, and enforce her or his rights." The NSLDN encompasses three categories: defending, safeguarding, and improving student rights. Under the "defending" pillar: a national student legal hotline would be established to give students access to legal assistance regarding their rights as students . Whether it be an interlocutory situation that required immediate attention, or simply guidance on how to better understand their rights and stand up for them, students had an outlet with the NSLDN. The "safeguarding" pillar advised that every law school should have some kind of resources available to ensure that students were being taken care of. Whether it be peer mentors, additional support groups, or a dedicated legal clinic, they were to be formed through NSLDN standards. The "improving" pillar outlined the creation of local and regional legal defense networks amongst NSLDN members. In these three pillars lay the foundation for the program which stands today as a stalwart protection to students in jeopardy. Today they still provide access with their initial advice, advocacy, and training for student attorneys through to the verification of misconduct and beyond.
Central Legality Issues
The National Student Legal Defense Network focuses on preparing state and local legal aid attorneys to take on cases involving student loan borrowers or students being defrauded by schools. This includes providing support from lawyers with experience with predatory lending, military education issues, and consumer protection class action litigation. SLDN aims to use the full range of legal advocacy tools—class actions, administrative complaints, systemic reform litigation, and legislative advocacy—in order to promote consumer protection and accountability.
In recent years, predatory commercial lending has arisen as a top priority. Large corporations have used deceptive and predatory practices, such as deliberately enrolling students in unnecessary courses, and pushing them toward expensive private loans, while failing to properly explain their financial obligations, to defraud and defund the educational opportunities for students not only receiving aid from federal government, but also private aid. Institutions like Corinthian Colleges, ITT Technical Institute, and the University of Phoenix, led to massive student loan defaults, while impacting consumer and taxpayer interests. These predatory lending strategies have caused irreparable harm to millions of students, with the network prioritizing cases against the predatory lending practices of G.I. Bill and private lenders. Similar violations have arisen out of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. But federal law shielding nonprofit organizations from liability for the acts of their employees, which lowers the bureaucracy’s accountability, has thwarted most attempts to hold nonprofit colleges accountable.
Major Cases and Highlights
The NSLDN has been successful in tackling some of the most significant legal challenges facing students and universities through its representation of student legal organizations and legal aid clinics. Some notable cases include: Guimont v. University of North Dakota: This landmark case established protections for North Dakota university students in relation to misuse, inconsistent enforcement, and vagueness in the enforcement of the student conduct code. Jones v. McGill: Win for Students Declholding that a university’s eligibility regulations regarding "good moral character" must be consistent with the Nicaraguan-American Anti-Discrimination Act of 1990 in their treatment of Nicaraguans. City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power v. USC: This case involved claims for unpaid employment benefits against USC by students and former students under the City of Los Angeles Municipal Code. It resulted in a settlement with the City under which USC agreed to reimburse the City $1.8 million and pay its employment officers an additional $270,000 for the period of August 2007 through December 2012. O AUTLA v. Los Angeles Community College District: A groundbreaking settlement with major provisions for undocumented students, including access to legal counsel due process, and equitable discipline procedures, will be extended through 2021. Doe v. VCU: Landmark decision where Virginia court upholds transgender rights and discrimination policies. National Federation of the Blind v. University of Maryland et al.: Maryland university’s failure to make iPads fully accessible to blind students is unlawful discrimination (settlement). Anderson v. Gallaudet University: This was a very high profile case regarding student discrimination. Advocates collaborated closely with a group of deaf Gallaudet University alumni to work towards a settlement, and the agreement was accepted in September 2014. Female employees in a different discrimination case will also receive a monetary settlement.
The NSLDN also works on other student protection litigation issues. In 2013, NSLDN joined 52 organizations to form what will become the largest civil rights coalition in U.S. history. This collaborative group will be entitled to intervene in Fisher v. University of Texas (UT), a case challenging affirmative action in college admissions. Many of the status quo student protections were enacted during the Civil Rights Era and are often threatened by legal challenges.
Defense Network Partners
The National Student Legal Defense Network complements their advocacy efforts with collaborations and alliances with other like-minded organizations, government bodies, institutions of higher learning, and law schools. These partnerships help create synergies and efficiencies to better achieve their objectives. For example, the inclusion and dialogue with law school professionals (the Financial Aid Administrators and Registrars) on the NSLDN’s Advisory Board helps secure their commitment to a balanced and fair process for all students who may seek relief through any Network initiative or process . In addition, NSLDN consults with research groups, consumer organizations and state and local officials to help shape public policies for universities and colleges and in particular, career institutions, to ensure processes that safeguard students’ rights and improve experiences in higher education. The network plans to engage more groups in the future to reach those who most directly interact with students today.
Seeking Help as a Student
The network provides a range of advocacy, information, and potential legal recourse for students. Some students will benefit from the advocacy and technical assistance, such as policy development support and analysis, training, and resources the network offers to student advocates in the legal services community. Student advocates are community-based organizations that work on academic issues impacting low-income students and their families. Others will need legal representation, either individual or through a class action. For those who chose to pursue this route, some students will be connected to attorneys around the country who will work with the students to address their individual legal needs, and others will be connected to a class action attorney with whom the student can work in seeking relief from the court.
No matter which option a student chooses, the network will work to connect the student with resources aimed at the problems they are facing. Students can contact the national network to request assistance directly.
The Future for the Student Legal Defense
While the National Student Legal Defense Network is a new program, it has already been expanding its vision for future development and outreach. Upcoming projects include an expansion of the training tools, interactive learning modules, and member services to be utilized by member lawyers or private attorneys specializing in student legal rights and the Student Legal Defense Network. The Student Legal Defense Network has also begun working with practitioners in multiple states on a public interest litigation project that works with stakeholders in those states to address gaps in protections for students. Lastly , the National Student Legal Defense Network is also gearing up for a national campaign to educate students about consumer rights, including tips on safeguarding information and how to avoid student debt traps, including video and live events, as well as a social media push.