Vanessa Hernandez to Present ‘Speech and Protest in Public Schools’ May 31 at WWU

Vanessa Hernandez, a Seattle area lawyer, will present “Speech and Protest in Public Schools” at 4 p.m. Thursday, May 31 in Miller Hall room 005 on Western’s campus.

This presentation will be a part of the the 19th Annual Educational Law and Social Justice Forum sponsored by the Journal of Educational Controversy and the Center for Education, Equity and Diversity at Western Washington University.  

The event is free and open to the public.

In the presentation Hernandez will discuss the law around student and teacher speech and protest in K-12 schools. It will focus on emerging issues around student protest, student clubs, the relationship between First Amendment and anti-discrimination protections, teachers’ use of social media and teacher and student engagement in political activity outside of school hours.

Hernandez formerly managed the ACLU-WA’s Second Chances Project, serving the legal needs of people reentering society from prisons and jails.  She is a graduate of the University of Washington School of Law, where she was a Gates Public Service Law Scholar.