The Core Blog

Yesterday, we told you about how Texas Appleseed helped end the criminalization of truancy. What we didn’t tell you was how it led to a new project for Texas Appleseed. In 2013, I was working primarily on truancy reform, working to change the law so that hundreds of thousands of students would no longer be charged with a criminal offense. One of the most outrageous discoveries that we made during our work was that students

Until 2015, truancy was a criminal offense in Texas. More than one hundred thousand students each year were cited for truancy, had to appear in adult criminal court (no matter what their age), and many ended up with fines, court fees, a criminal record, and for some, jail time. One such student was Jason: Around the same time that Jason’s parents split when he was in high school, his mother’s rheumatoid arthritis worsened, making it

“You can study government and politics in school, but the best way to really understand the process is to volunteer your time.” - Rob McKenna, Former Washington Attorney General In May 2015, Dykema Gossett PLLC and Cox Smith Matthews Inc. joined forces to create Dykema Cox Smith; a more than 450-lawyer firm, with 15 offices, mainly concentrated in Michigan, Illinois, and Texas. Soon after the transition, Pro Bono Counsel for Dykema, Heidi Naasko, called me

“Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” - Elizabeth Andrew Have you ever thought about what it's like to be homeless at the age of 22? Or 17? Or even younger? What about homeless and without a parent or guardian to guide you? Can you still attend school? What if you get sick? How will you earn a living? How will you get to work even if you can find

“Equal justice under law is not merely a caption on the facade of the Supreme Court building; it is perhaps the most inspiring ideal of our society. It is one of the ends for which our entire legal system exists . . . it is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability, without regard to economic status.” - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr Welcome to Pro Bono Week

In recent weeks, two failed criminal justice policies — our treatment of 17-year-olds as adults, and our money-based system of pretrial release — have collided to create the potential for a terrible outcome for hundreds of Texas youth. Harris County officials, in an effort to comply with federal laws passed to protect inmates under 18 from sexual assault and rape, made the decision to ship off 17-year-olds who cannot afford bail to a facility 160

Texas Appleseed is looking for art from individuals between the ages of 14 and 24. The art will be featured in the Texas version of the Homeless Youth Handbook. Three other state's versions of this handbook can be found at www.homelessyouth.org. The Texas Homeless Youth Handbook is currently being drafted by lawyers at the worldwide law firm of Baker & McKenzie and the Texas-based company Weatherford International. The handbook will provide youth (14-24) who are

Texas Appleseed's new toolkit shows how Texas cities can limit predatory lending’s economic drain by helping cities increase access to fair, low-cost loans for their employees and constituents they serve. A Toolkit for Cities lays out specific opportunities any city can pursue, highlights benefits to cities and overall communities, and includes quick facts, tips, and case study examples of programs locally and across the nation. The toolkit includes details from how and why to partner

We're giving away a few items to help celebrate our 20th anniversary. Answer this question correctly for the chance to win our giveaway bag featuring Texas Appleseed-branded items —a T-shirt, a tea towel, and a tangle! * According to our Suspended Childhood report, in the 2013-2014 school year, Texas schools issued about how many out-of-school suspensions to young children (pre-K - 5th grade): 42,000; 55,000; 88,000; or 114,000 ? *Email info@texasappleseed.net and put "20th Trivia

As a new crop of interns gets started for the fall semester at Texas Appleseed, I wanted to share the wonderful experience that the summers had here. As a second-year undergraduate student double majoring in Journalism and African Studies, I was accepted onto the Texas Appleseed team as a Communications intern. I’ve learned about newsrooms in Texas and used my writing skills for various projects, ranging from blog posts to radio public service announcements. However

Welcome to The Core, our blog where we’ll share videos, photos, and updates on what’s happening at Texas Appleseed. For our inaugural post, we’re catching you up on a few of our Core videos we released earlier this year: We couldn’t let the Summer Olympics pass without a fun video of us giving gold to some of the best in Texas. With an Olympic torch in hand, watch to see why we award gold to

Texas Appleseed is a public interest justice center. Our nonprofit works to change unjust laws and policies that prevent Texans from realizing their full potential. Our blog, The Core, is here to educate, inspire, and to offerinnovative and practical solutions to complex issues. Comments Policy As nonprofit organization, this site may be visited by other advocacy organizations, publicofficials, supporters, news organizations, and other groups. While we encourage you to share comments, please understand that we