High stakes
SUFEO faculty advisor Jackie Ross (JD ‘17), left, celebrates the organization’s 10th anniversary with students Elizabeth Martinez, Dani Scudder, and Anna Patton.
High stakes
Students in Stand Up for Each Other (SUFEO) advocate for PreK-12 students
With three years of experience working as a case manager for a Texas law firm, Elizabeth Martinez entered the School of Law eager to work directly with clients. But she thought that those opportunities wouldn’t be possible until much later in her law school journey—perhaps as a 2L working in one of Loyola’s six clinics or once she obtained her 711 license.
So, Martinez was thrilled when she learned about Stand Up for Each Other (SUFEO), a student-run organization with several curricular components. It’s the only program in the School of Law that provides 1L students with live client interaction.
Now in its tenth year, SUFEO assists families in keeping children safe and engaged in school. The organization provides free information, resources and advocacy for PreK-12 students facing challenges in schools across Illinois. Faculty attorneys associated with the law school’s Civitas ChildLaw Clinic supervise the law students.
“We’re not your traditional student organization,” says Martinez, now a 2L and SUFEO’s president. “I think of us as a hybrid organization; we’re providing professional development opportunities to the Loyola community, but we’re also a legal service provider for families in the Chicagoland area.”
Miranda Johnson, clinical professor of law and director of the Education Law and Policy Institute, mentors many students in SUFEO.
Celebrating a decade of impact
The current iteration of SUFEO reflects the School of Law’s ongoing quest for excellence. As the organization has evolved, students, faculty, and alumni have found new ways to deepen SUFEO’s impact.
“When SUFEO was founded, it was focused on suspension appeals,” says Jackie Ross (JD ’17), clinical faculty member and staff attorney for the Civitas ChildLaw Clinic. “Suspensions are often the door to exclusionary discipline, and they can be a breaking point where families and schools stop trusting each other.”
SUFEO continues to handle suspension cases, and, over time, has greatly expanded its scope. Today, SUFEO assists with expulsion and suspension hearings, truancy proceedings at school- and administrative-hearing levels, special education services, and bullying issues (complaints, investigations, safety transfers, safety planning meetings).
“Our SUFEO advocates are getting firsthand, real-life case management practice from start to maintenance to closure, typically with a family who’s in crisis.”
The latter category received a funding boost in 2020, when David Baker (JD ’79) made a gift to establish the Anti-Bullying Program, housed in the Civitas ChildLaw Clinic. Studies from the CDC indicate that approximately 20 percent of high school students experience bullying, with some of those students at risk for depression, anxiety, physical injury, decreased academic achievement and school attendance, and even death. Baker’s ongoing support creates opportunities for Loyola students and faculty to focus on systemic and policy change, as well as direct representation of youth and families involved in school bullying cases, spearheaded by SUFEO.
Other recent SUFEO changes include the spring 2023 launch of the Educational Advocacy Lab course, which includes a yearly practicum, and a streamlined intake process. Instead of the prior helpline model, SUFEO now receives client referrals from local mental health and legal clinics.
Annual snapshot
In the 2023-24 academic year, SUFEO conducted 50 intakes, supporting clients through referrals, extended assistance, representation, and self-advocacy. Results included:
- 8 students were given IEPs or had their IEPs adapted to appropriately meet their needs
- 6 students’ bullying experiences were addressed, allowing them to attend school safely
- 2 students’ expulsion proceedings were settled, allowing them to remain in school
- 1 student’s suspension recommendation was reconsidered by CPS and ultimately dismissed
A fork in the road
As SUFEO’s intake coordinator last year, 3L Dani Scudder was privy to the full range of cases entering the pipeline—50 total in the 2023-24 academic year. One case that sticks with her serves as a warning and a reminder of the high stakes at play in many of these youth’s lives.
Scudder worked with J. (initials have been changed for confidentiality), a high school senior facing a potential expulsion. J. was a salutatorian who had already secured athletic scholarships for college when he was suspended for bringing a weapon to school. An emancipated youth who had experienced childhood trauma, J. had been couch surfing and brought the weapon for protection while walking a new route to school.
“It was one of the very few times I’ve been involved in something where you could see the fork in the road,” Scudder says. “He’s so smart, he’s been through so much, his future is ahead of him, but you could see how an expulsion would derail his educational plans, and it would just be such a tragedy.”
“Suspensions are often the door to exclusionary discipline, and they can be a breaking point where families and schools stop trusting each other.”
Scudder knew about the potential harms associated with suspensions and expulsions thanks to her coursework in the Educational Advocacy Lab, and she was determined to keep J. on track with his academic goals.
In tandem with J., Scudder worked with the school to push out the expulsion hearing, gaining valuable time for the SUFEO team to research alternative school options. In the meantime, J. applied for a high school program at a local community college, where he was already taking classes.
J. was ultimately able to transfer to that program, graduate, and enroll in college.
While not every situation yields such an uplifting outcome, the experience gave Scudder a sense of empowerment. “All these clients tug at your heartstrings, but realizing that we can do something about it—that’s encouraging,” she says. “It was a great reminder that I’m gaining skills and knowledge that are going to be helpful, no matter what kind of law I pursue.”
Long-term consequences
As suspension rates rose in the last four decades, so too did concerns about the effectiveness, appropriateness, and impartiality of suspensions and expulsions (known together as exclusionary discipline). The American Academy of Pediatrics released a Policy Statement in October 2024 outlining some of these issues:
- Black students, LGBTQ+ students and students with disabilities are disproportionately affected by exclusionary school discipline.
- Exclusionary school discipline increases the likelihood of a child being involved in the juvenile justice system.
- Suspensions and expulsions have a negative effect on school climate, and high rates of exclusionary school discipline are correlated with lower academic achievement schoolwide.
- Exclusionary school discipline is associated with school failure, which can limit career opportunities and worsen health outcomes.
Source: American Academy of Pediatrics, School Suspension and Expulsion: Policy Statement, October 2024
Elizabeth Martinez plans to pursue a career in public interest law. She says that being involved in SUFEO pushes her to think outside of the textbook.
Crossroads of complexities
Martinez, SUFEO president, values her involvement for the way SUFEO pushes thinking outside of the textbook.
“We do a lot of issue spotting in our doctrinal courses; you go through hypotheticals and spot the issue in the text,” she says. “But with SUFEO, in order to effectively advocate for these families, you have to go in with the expectation that there might be multiple interlinking issues, and you need to be equipped to identify all those crossroads during a conversation, not just through a book.”
That’s what happened when Martinez started working with L., a young student who was at risk of being expelled after violating school policy. While working on this case, Martinez and her supervising attorney developed concerns that went beyond the potential expulsion.
“This started as a discipline case, but we’re keenly aware that a lot of issues are interrelated,” Martinez says. “As we discussed alternative placements, we wanted to find a school that would be able to offer special education support, if L. qualified. Her mental health, her educational progress—that was all at stake.”
Ultimately, the team was able to help L. get evaluated for special education services and enrolled in a new school that could better support her needs, where she is thriving.
Martinez, who plans to pursue a career in public interest law, harbors no illusions about the difficulties of this work. “It’s easy to become disheartened,” she says. But her passion for making a difference keeps her motivated. “Love keeps me going—it’s not something I can run out of,” Martinez says. “I have love for my peers who support each other fiercely, I have love for the work we do, and I have love for my clients—families who are trying their best, even in the face of hardship.”
“Experiential learning in a clinic setting teaches diligence, communication skills, management, and professional conduct,” says Anna Patton. “Our SUFEO advocates are getting firsthand, real-life case management practice.”
Internal wins
There’s no doubt that SUFEO fills a critical need in the community, and countless families have benefited from SUFEO’s services. But one law student wondered if there was something missing.
“A big part of my prior work was on student learning,” says 2L Anna Patton, who has a background in higher education and holds a PhD in curriculum design and educational studies. “How do we know that student advocates are learning? How do we know that involvement is meaningful?”
“Experiential learning in a clinic setting teaches diligence, communication skills, management, and professional conduct.”
With Ross’s support, Patton created a new position on SUFEO’s board: resource manager. In this role, Patton is conducting law student learning assessments and collecting data—looking at SUFEO’s internal impact as well as external. Based on what she’s seen so far, Patton anticipates that she’ll be able to show strong results around the development of professional competence.
“Experiential learning in a clinic setting teaches diligence, communication skills, management, and professional conduct,” she says. “Our SUFEO advocates are getting firsthand, real-life case management practice from start to maintenance to closure, typically with a family who’s in crisis.”
As for Patton, who is also a Civitas ChildLaw Fellow, SUFEO serves as a kind of balm when she herself feels overwhelmed. She recalls assisting a family whose kindergartner was being bullied. The situation was upsetting and, due to legal constraints, there wasn’t a lot that SUFEO could do. But Patton gathered as many resources as she could into an email—and the parent was thrilled.
It reminds Patton of something she once heard from her mentor, Miranda Johnson, clinical professor of law and director of the Education Law and Policy Institute. “She told me, ‘You can’t change the harm that happened to someone in the past, but the work you do now can help alleviate harm in the future,’” Patton says. “That’s what I’m working for. That’s what fills my cup.” –Kelsey Schagemann (April 2025)
With three years of experience working as a case manager for a Texas law firm, Elizabeth Martinez entered the School of Law eager to work directly with clients. But she thought that those opportunities wouldn’t be possible until much later in her law school journey—perhaps as a 2L working in one of Loyola’s six clinics or once she obtained her 711 license.
So, Martinez was thrilled when she learned about Stand Up for Each Other (SUFEO), a student-run organization with several curricular components. It’s the only program in the School of Law that provides 1L students with live client interaction.
Now in its tenth year, SUFEO assists families in keeping children safe and engaged in school. The organization provides free information, resources and advocacy for PreK-12 students facing challenges in schools across Illinois. Faculty attorneys associated with the law school’s Civitas ChildLaw Clinic supervise the law students.
“We’re not your traditional student organization,” says Martinez, now a 2L and SUFEO’s president. “I think of us as a hybrid organization; we’re providing professional development opportunities to the Loyola community, but we’re also a legal service provider for families in the Chicagoland area.”
Celebrating a decade of impact
The current iteration of SUFEO reflects the School of Law’s ongoing quest for excellence. As the organization has evolved, students, faculty, and alumni have found new ways to deepen SUFEO’s impact.
“When SUFEO was founded, it was focused on suspension appeals,” says Jackie Ross (JD ’17), clinical faculty member and staff attorney for the Civitas ChildLaw Clinic. “Suspensions are often the door to exclusionary discipline, and they can be a breaking point where families and schools stop trusting each other.”
SUFEO continues to handle suspension cases, and, over time, has greatly expanded its scope. Today, SUFEO assists with expulsion and suspension hearings, truancy proceedings at school- and administrative-hearing levels, special education services, and bullying issues (complaints, investigations, safety transfers, safety planning meetings).
The latter category received a funding boost in 2020, when David Baker (JD ’79) made a gift to establish the Anti-Bullying Program, housed in the Civitas ChildLaw Clinic. Studies from the CDC indicate that approximately 20 percent of high school students experience bullying, with some of those students at risk for depression, anxiety, physical injury, decreased academic achievement and school attendance, and even death. Baker’s ongoing support creates opportunities for Loyola students and faculty to focus on systemic and policy change, as well as direct representation of youth and families involved in school bullying cases, spearheaded by SUFEO.
Other recent SUFEO changes include the spring 2023 launch of the Educational Advocacy Lab course, which includes a yearly practicum, and a streamlined intake process. Instead of the prior helpline model, SUFEO now receives client referrals from local mental health and legal clinics.
A fork in the road
As SUFEO’s intake coordinator last year, 3L Dani Scudder was privy to the full range of cases entering the pipeline—50 total in the 2023-24 academic year. One case that sticks with her serves as a warning and a reminder of the high stakes at play in many of these youth’s lives.
Scudder worked with J. (initials have been changed for confidentiality), a high school senior facing a potential expulsion. J. was a salutatorian who had already secured athletic scholarships for college when he was suspended for bringing a weapon to school. An emancipated youth who had experienced childhood trauma, J. had been couch surfing and brought the weapon for protection while walking a new route to school.
“It was one of the very few times I’ve been involved in something where you could see the fork in the road,” Scudder says. “He’s so smart, he’s been through so much, his future is ahead of him, but you could see how an expulsion would derail his educational plans, and it would just be such a tragedy.”
Scudder knew about the potential harms associated with suspensions and expulsions thanks to her coursework in the Educational Advocacy Lab, and she was determined to keep J. on track with his academic goals.
In tandem with J., Scudder worked with the school to push out the expulsion hearing, gaining valuable time for the SUFEO team to research alternative school options. In the meantime, J. applied for a high school program at a local community college, where he was already taking classes.
J. was ultimately able to transfer to that program, graduate, and enroll in college.
While not every situation yields such an uplifting outcome, the experience gave Scudder a sense of empowerment. “All these clients tug at your heartstrings, but realizing that we can do something about it—that’s encouraging,” she says. “It was a great reminder that I’m gaining skills and knowledge that are going to be helpful, no matter what kind of law I pursue.”
Crossroads of complexities
Martinez, SUFEO president, values her involvement for the way SUFEO pushes thinking outside of the textbook.
“We do a lot of issue spotting in our doctrinal courses; you go through hypotheticals and spot the issue in the text,” she says. “But with SUFEO, in order to effectively advocate for these families, you have to go in with the expectation that there might be multiple interlinking issues, and you need to be equipped to identify all those crossroads during a conversation, not just through a book.”
That’s what happened when Martinez started working with L., a young student who was at risk of being expelled after violating school policy. While working on this case, Martinez and her supervising attorney developed concerns that went beyond the potential expulsion.
“This started as a discipline case, but we’re keenly aware that a lot of issues are interrelated,” Martinez says. “As we discussed alternative placements, we wanted to find a school that would be able to offer special education support, if L. qualified. Her mental health, her educational progress—that was all at stake.”
Ultimately, the team was able to help L. get evaluated for special education services and enrolled in a new school that could better support her needs, where she is thriving.
Martinez, who plans to pursue a career in public interest law, harbors no illusions about the difficulties of this work. “It’s easy to become disheartened,” she says. But her passion for making a difference keeps her motivated. “Love keeps me going—it’s not something I can run out of,” Martinez says. “I have love for my peers who support each other fiercely, I have love for the work we do, and I have love for my clients—families who are trying their best, even in the face of hardship.”
Internal wins
There’s no doubt that SUFEO fills a critical need in the community, and countless families have benefited from SUFEO’s services. But one law student wondered if there was something missing.
“A big part of my prior work was on student learning,” says 2L Anna Patton, who has a background in higher education and holds a PhD in curriculum design and educational studies. “How do we know that student advocates are learning? How do we know that involvement is meaningful?”
With Ross’s support, Patton created a new position on SUFEO’s board: resource manager. In this role, Patton is conducting law student learning assessments and collecting data—looking at SUFEO’s internal impact as well as external. Based on what she’s seen so far, Patton anticipates that she’ll be able to show strong results around the development of professional competence.
“Experiential learning in a clinic setting teaches diligence, communication skills, management, and professional conduct,” she says. “Our SUFEO advocates are getting firsthand, real-life case management practice from start to maintenance to closure, typically with a family who’s in crisis.”
As for Patton, who is also a Civitas ChildLaw Fellow, SUFEO serves as a kind of balm when she herself feels overwhelmed. She recalls assisting a family whose kindergartner was being bullied. The situation was upsetting and, due to legal constraints, there wasn’t a lot that SUFEO could do. But Patton gathered as many resources as she could into an email—and the parent was thrilled.
It reminds Patton of something she once heard from her mentor, Miranda Johnson, clinical professor of law and director of the Education Law and Policy Institute. “She told me, ‘You can’t change the harm that happened to someone in the past, but the work you do now can help alleviate harm in the future,’” Patton says. “That’s what I’m working for. That’s what fills my cup.” –Kelsey Schagemann (April 2025)