School Justice Project (SJP)

What School Justice Project (SJP) does

School Justice Project (SJP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal services organization founded in August 2013 by Claire Blumenson and Sarah Comeau, both former post-graduate legal fellows at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. Headquartered in Washington, DC, SJP provides special education legal services to court-involved students with disabilities aged 17-22 who are involved in DC's juvenile and criminal legal systems. The organization operates three integrated core programs: Direct Representation (individual legal advocacy at court hearings, school meetings, and through reentry), Systemic Advocacy and Policy (impact litigation, coalition leadership, and legislative reform), and Community Outreach and Legal Training including Education Legal Desks, Know Your Rights curricula, and trainings for defense attorneys, judges, and government agencies. A Social Work Program launched in May 2025 extends the model into wraparound reentry support addressing housing, benefits, and employment barriers. SJP also leads the Special Education Panel for Emerging Adult Defendants in DC Superior Court (the first of its kind nationally), chairs multiple coalitions including SEAR and SEAC, and served as lead or co-counsel in landmark class actions Charles H. v. DC (settled for $4.1 million in compensatory education in 2023) and Barnes v. DC (class certified in 2025).

Name

School Justice Project (SJP)

Legal name

School Justice Project

Website

https://sjpdc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

School Justice Project is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit providing special education legal representation, systemic advocacy, and community training to court-involved students with disabilities aged 17-22 in DC's juvenile and criminal justice systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Education Legal Services / Youth Justice Advocacy

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611), Correctional Institutions (922140)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Juvenile Justice Education Programs (Detention & Correctional Education) (EDAJAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Defense & Legal Aid Services (BPAIAFAC), Juvenile Justice System (Courts & Detention) (BPAIAFAF), Legal Literacy & Public Legal Education (Know Your Rights) (EDAAAFAI), Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM)

Keywords

• Special education legal services
• Legal advocacy nonprofit
• Court-involved youth services
• Disability rights representation
• Juvenile justice advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: SJP operates primarily through grant funding from foundations and government sources. Major funders include Echoing Green (seed funder), Open Society Foundations Black Male Achievement Fellowship, Many Hands ($100,000 Impact Grant), and Equal Justice Works fellowship program co-sponsored by Home Depot and Evershed Sutherland.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

School Justice Project provides free special education legal services and advocacy to court-involved students aged 17-22 with disabilities in Washington, DC. The organization delivers direct representation during incarceration, court hearings, school enrollment, and reentry, alongside systemic advocacy through impact litigation and policy reform, and community outreach training for court professionals and partner organizations. All services are provided at no cost to eligible clients as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Product overview

School Justice Project (SJP) is a special education legal services nonprofit offering three integrated core programs: Direct Representation (providing individual legal representation to court-involved students with disabilities), Systemic Advocacy & Policy (driving systemic change through litigation, coalition-building, and legislative efforts), and Community Outreach and Legal Training (COLT, including Education Legal Desks, Know Your Rights resources, and Legal Trainings). The organization also operates a Social Work Program to provide wraparound support. Key litigation includes Charles H. v. District of Columbia (settled for $4.1M in compensatory education) and Barnes v. District of Columbia. SJP also leads the Special Education Panel for Emerging Adult Defendants in DC Superior Court, the first of its kind nationwide. All programs work together to ensure older court-involved students with disabilities can access quality education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Direct Representation
• Systemic Advocacy & Policy
• Community Outreach and Legal Training (COLT)
• Social Work Program
• Special Education Panel for Emerging Adult Defendants

Quantifiable outcome

• 87% of court hearings resulted in mitigated outcomes for clients
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Nixon Peabody LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024Co-counsel in Barnes v. District of Columbia class action case challenging lack of special education for DC residents in Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities.
• Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2021Co-counsel in Charles H. v. District of Columbia class action lawsuit against DC for failure to provide special education during COVID-19 pandemic. Settled with $4.1 million in compensatory education for class members.
• Terris, Pravlik & Millian LLPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2021Co-counsel in Charles H. v. District of Columbia class action case representing incarcerated students with special education needs.
• Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLPmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partnership where SJP trained associates to co-counsel individual client cases. 90-minute technical training conducted to equip attorneys for special education representation.
• Hogan LovellsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partnership providing trained attorneys to co-counsel cases with SJP. Began co-counseling first case with SJP attorneys.
• WilmerHalemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partnership providing trained attorneys to support SJP's work representing court-involved students with disabilities.
• Hollingsworth LLPmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPro bono partnership providing trained attorneys to support SJP's work.
• Maya Angelou Public Charter School AcademymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharter school network contracted by DC to provide education at DC Jail complex, Youth Services Center, and New Beginnings facilities. SJP works with students at these facilities.
• Thrive Under 25 CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition focused on youth justice reform. SJP was Prior Chair and continues to work with coalition on Second Look Amendment Act and LEARNS Act advocacy.
• Special Education Attorney Roundtable (SEAR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition chaired by SJP bringing together special education attorneys to address issues affecting court-involved students with disabilities.
• Special Education Advocacy Coalition (SEAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition chaired by SJP focused on special education advocacy issues in DC.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Disability Rights Network (NDRN): Federation of state Protection & Advocacy (P&A) organizations that pursue legal advocacy for people with disabilities. NDRN operates at far greater scale and across all disability populations, but its state P&As overlap with SJP's special-ed rights enforcement mandate and could be partners or competitors in any multi-state expansion.
• Vera Institute of Justice: National research and advocacy organization pursuing criminal justice reform, including decarceration and youth justice. Compares to SJP broadly on justice reform strategy and scale, though Vera operates much further upstream as a research and technical-assistance provider rather than a direct legal services shop.

Emerging players

• Justice for Families: National nonprofit focused on ending the prosecution, incarceration, and criminalization of youth. Overlaps with SJP's systemic advocacy to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and references the same coalition architecture (e.g., Thrive Under 25) that SJP leads in DC.
• Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law: DC-based nonprofit legal advocacy organization focused on the rights of people with mental health conditions, including youth in the justice system. Comparable because it pairs impact litigation with policy advocacy in the same DC legal ecosystem and overlaps on the disability-justice intersection that defines SJP's work.

Direct peers

• Children's Law Center (DC): Washington, DC nonprofit that provides legal services to children and youth, including those in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Same geography, overlapping client population (DC youth with disabilities), and similar legal-aid delivery model, making it the most direct service-delivery peer in SJP's own market.
• National Center for Youth Law (NCYL): Oakland-based national nonprofit that uses impact litigation and policy to advance justice for children, including those in the justice and education systems. Overlaps with SJP's systemic advocacy and impact-litigation strategy and serves as a reference model for scaling a youth-justice legal practice beyond a single jurisdiction.
• Juvenile Law Center: Philadelphia-based nonprofit that provides legal advocacy for court-involved youth and pursues systemic reform. Closest mission match to SJP because it also combines direct representation, impact litigation, and policy work on behalf of youth in the justice system, though its geographic focus is Pennsylvania.
• Disability Rights DC at University Legal Services: DC's federally funded Protection & Advocacy organization for people with disabilities. Operates in SJP's exact geography and frequently acts on IDEA and education-rights issues, making it a natural partner or partial substitute for the special education legal services SJP provides to court-involved youth.

Others

• Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs: DC-based civil rights legal organization that serves as co-counsel alongside SJP in Charles H. v. DC and Barnes v. DC. Comparable because it shares the same special education / IDEA impact litigation docket, but operates as a partner rather than a competitor and brings broader civil rights capacity.
• Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS): DC's independent public defender office, where both SJP co-founders served as post-graduate legal fellows. While not a direct services peer (it represents defendants in criminal matters), PDS is the institutional ancestor of SJP and the natural upstream referral source for the clientele SJP serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sjp_dc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schooljusticeproject

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about School Justice Project (SJP)