Philosophy

Civil Rights Solutions, LLC was founded on the philosophy that schools should be proactive in their approach to tackling complicated civil rights issues for students.

By educating school leaders and the organizations and staff that work with charter schools on these issues and the legal requirements that accompany them, Civil Rights Solutions equips schools with the tools necessary to meet these requirements.

Experience

Civil Rights Solutions was founded upon the realization that schools that take a proactive approach to learning about and training staff on civil rights issues were more effective in developing and adopting legally compliant policies and practices. Those schools are also more equipped to effectively implement these policies and practices, resulting in better outcomes for their students.  Through our experience we have learned that taking a proactive approach ultimately results in lower costs for schools, allowing them to allocate more resources to serving students and less resources engaging in litigation and remedying noncompliance.

Lauren E. Baum

In addition to being a partner at Civil Rights Solutions, Lauren Baum is an attorney in private practice in Washington, DC, representing charter schools in DC and Maryland.  In these roles, Lauren advises charter schools on a variety of civil rights issues, including but not limited to issues related to students with disabilities, English Language learners, bullying/harassment, student discipline, single gender schools and other Title IX issues, enrollment, weighted lotteries and other access and equity challenges.  Since 2008, Lauren has represented over 30 charter schools in the District of Columbia and Maryland.  Lauren also has led multiple trainings and presentations to members of the charter school community across the country on civil rights issues.  Lauren received her undergraduate degrees from the University of Texas and her J.D. from Washington College of Law.

Renita K. Thukral

In addition to being a partner at Civil Rights Solutions, Renita Thukral serves as the Sr. National Legal Advisor at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.  In these roles, she leads and grows a national network of charter school attorneys known as “The Alliance of Public Charter School Attorneys”; provides technical assistance and training to charter school operators, authorizers, attorneys and advocates seeking to improve school-level civil rights policies and practices; addresses fiscal equity and labor issues confronting charter schools; provides litigation and strategic assistance to state partners considering litigation; and supports charter school advocates and operators seeking to improve their regulatory and authorizing environments.

Prior to this work, she served as the Policy Director at the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools and the Director of Policy and Advocacy at New Schools for New Orleans. Renita earned her B.A. from Stanford University and her J.D. from Yale Law School.  She taught junior high school math in Los Altos, California, before attending law school, and she served as a public defender for over six years in New York City before joining the charter school community.