Join us at Telling Tales on May 10, 2024!
Every Student is Worthy of a Quality Education
Students have a right to learn — no matter what. The Student Advocacy Center of Michigan helps students in grades K-12 stand up for their rights when they are suspended, expelled, denied special education support, or faced with racism or some other barrier at school. By working together, we can make sure students get the support they need to succeed.
Fighting Injustice,
Supporting our Youth
The costs of dropping out of school are great. Students who do not graduate from high school have a higher risk of living in poverty, being unemployed, having poor health or ending up imprisoned. For our most underserved youth, a diploma provides a valuable advantage: the opportunity to create the future they want and deserve.
Since we began in 1975, the Student Advocacy Center of Michigan has been fighting injustice in our educational system alongside students and parents. When a student faces conflict at school, having someone who cares — someone who knows the system — can make the difference between staying in school or being pushed out.
When we work together to make sure students stay in school, everyone wins.
“Student Advocacy Center helped to get me back in school…. I feel more hopeful knowing I have a chance of catching up and completing my last three years of high school.”
Jordan, 15 years old
Understanding Injustice
in Education
3x
Black students are suspended and expelled at a rate three times greater than white students.
Source: Civil Rights Data Collection
2x
Students with disabilities are twice as likely to receive an out-of-school suspension as their nondisabled peers.
Source: Civil Rights Data Collection
14%
Students who are suspended or expelled are 14 percent more likely to drop out of school.
Source: Civil Rights Data Collection
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Read Our Anti-Oppression Statements
NEWS
Michigan, We Can Do Better
Michigan has returned to a tired playbook of criminalizing youth in schools — but we know there are better ways forward. And YOU can help! What is going on? We are seeing increasingly more punitive approaches from schools. When we look at expulsion data from last...
We are Grateful for You!
It's time to celebrate YOU, our community of supporters and partners. You have had such an amazing impact on students and families in southeast Michigan and around the state. We served more students than we ever have, but sustained the deep work we do in our...
WE'VE GOT SWAG!
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