Significant Changes to Grant of Conditional Liberty!
Effective December 1st, the Department of Youth Services (DYS) has implemented significant changes to the GCL (Grant of Conditional Liberty) for committed youth. Every youth will now have a new GCL that excludes the "attend school regularly" and substance use conditions. Because suspended students cannot attend school, in practice the "attend school" requirement often means that a suspension is a presumptive violation of a youth’s freedom. This places a youth's liberty in the hands of the schools and many schools and districts across Massachusetts disproportionately suspend and expel students of color.
This positive change was made possible through the dedicated efforts of the YDDR (Youth Defenders Dismantling Racism) Education Advocacy Subcommittee. Special thanks to the YDDR Education Advocacy Subcommittee: Raquel Calderon, Erica Cushna, Katherine DiVasto, Cris Freitas, Deb Freitas, Taylor Henley, Ami Jackson, Charity Kruzel, Elizabeth Levitan, Tim Sindelar, and Erin Stewart for their impactful work, and gratitude to all those involved in extended DYS representation for providing excellent support to clients.
Through this commitment to advocacy, more stability has been created for our clients and it’s recognized that school can be challenging with discipline meted out inequitably. And now our youth clients' liberty will no longer be threatened by it.
