Research Supports the Need to Recognize the Right to Free Early Childhood Education and Free Secondary Education

Proud to have had the opportunity to co-lead this sign-on letter calling for new international law on the right to education to ensure every child has the opportunity to develop to their full potential. More than 70 leading experts from 30 countries joined this call. Also available online: the Letter and the Dispatch from Human Rights Watch.

Research Supports the Need to Recognize the Right to Free Early Childhood Education and Free Secondary Education

We, the undersigned individuals, are scholars, experts, and researchers on the education, development, wellbeing, and rights of children and adolescents. We write to express our support for a new optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) focused on the right to free education.[1] The aim of this initiative is to ensure recognition under international law of the right to free early childhood education and free secondary education, alongside the already-existing right to free and compulsory primary education.

Well-established scientific evidence shows unequivocally that education is foundational to children’s healthy development, wellbeing, fulfilment of their full potential, and their lifelong prospects. Not only is education valuable in its own right, it has a multiplier effect—that is, education helps position children to secure their other rights during childhood and subsequently as adults. At a societal level, investing in education is any country’s most effective policy tool to ensure prosperity, social cohesion, and sustainable development.

Although research evidence is clear on the importance of education to children’s holistic development, international law has not kept pace. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—the foundational instrument of the modern human rights movement—recognized every individual has the right to education, mandating that primary education be free and compulsory for all. In the more than 70 years since then, the international law standard on the right to education has changed little. While the right to education has been enshrined in legally-binding treaties—including the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)—international law has not expressly recognized early childhood education (pre-primary education) or mandated free secondary education for all children. These treaties have been silent on early childhood education, while calling on states to make secondary education “available and accessible” but stopping short of requiring that it be made available free. We believe it is time for that to change.

International consensus and frameworks (e.g., the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals) urge access to high-quality early childhood education, which, according to the Committee on the Rights of the Child’s “General Comment No. 7 on Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood”, must be understood as beginning at birth. Similarly, evidence from research on adolescent development reveals the importance of secondary education to children’s healthy development and lifelong prospects, including their capacity to navigate the complexities of our world in the 21st Century.

While the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call on states to ensure all children have access to quality early childhood education and care (SDG 4.2) and free secondary education (SDG 4.1), global monitoring data show the world is far from achieving the 2030 targets. Significant disparities persist among—and within—countries and regions, compounding stark inequalities of access, opportunity, condition, and outcome, especially for children from disadvantaged and marginalized communities. We therefore call for an urgent renewed commitment to education systems that realize just and equitable outcomes for ALL children. And we believe it is essential that this commitment be backed by a legal mandate to ensure its success.

The world has changed dramatically since 1948, and our understanding of how children develop and flourish has advanced significantly. To ensure education systems contribute to realizing children’s rights enshrined in UNCRC, it is critical that we secure their right to education from birth through secondary education.

We, therefore, call on all U.N. member states to support a new optional protocol to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child that will recognize the importance of education to children’s healthy development by mandating that governments ensure every child has access to free pre-primary[2], primary, and secondary education.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Todres, Distinguished University Professor & Professor of Law, Georgia State University, United States (jtodres@gsu.edu)

Mathias Urban, Desmond Chair of Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Research Centre, Dublin City University, Ireland (mathias.urban@dcu.ie)

Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, Samuel F. and Rose B. Gingold Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, Director, Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy and diversitydatakids.org, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, United States

Alejandro Acosta, Member of the Executive Board of the International Network on Peace Building with Young Children, INPB, Colombia

Bruce Adamson, Professor in Practice, University of Glasgow School of Law; Former Children and Young Person’s Commissioner Scotland, United Kingdom 

Vina Adriany, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia; Director, Southeast AsianMinisters of Education Organisation – Center for Early Childhood Care, Education and Parenting (SEAMEO-CECCEP)

Philip Alston, Professor of Law, New York University School of Law, United States

Pramod K. Anand, Visiting Fellow, Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries, New Delhi, India

Marisol Moreno Angarita, Professor, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia

W. Steven Barnett, Board of Governors Professor, National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University, United States

Klaus D. Beiter, Professor of Law, North-West University, South Africa

Marianne N. Bloch, Professor Emerita, Curriculum & Instruction, Gender and Women's Studies, University of Wisconsin Madison, United States

Richard J. Bonnie, Harrison Foundation Professor Emeritus of Law, Medicine, and Public Policy, Director Emeritus, Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, University of Virginia School of Law, United States

Tammy Chang, Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan, United States

Tara M. Collins, Associate Professor, School of Child and Youth Care, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada; Honorary Associate Professor, Children's Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Claudia Costín, Professor and founding director, Center for Excellence and Innovation of Education Policies (FGV-CEIPE); CEO, Instituto Singularidades, São Paulo, Brazil. Former Senior Director for Global Education, The World Bank

Gunilla Dahlberg, Professor Emerita of Education, Department of Child and Youth Studies, Stockholm University, Sweden

Carmen Dalli, Professor of Early Childhood Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

Angela Diaz, Dean of Global Health, Social Justice, and Human Rights, Jean C. and James W. Crystal Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Global Health and Health Systems Design and Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, United States

Jaap E. Doek, Former Chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2001-2007); Leiden University Law School, Department of Children’s Rights, The Netherlands

Hasina Banu Ebrahim, UNESCO Co-chair for Early Childhood Education, Care and Development, University of South Africa, South Africa

Elvis Fokala, Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Tali Gal, Chair in Child and Youth Rights, Professor of Law and Criminology, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Savitri Goonesekere, Emeritus Professor of Law University of Colombo, Sri Lanka

Jeffrey Goldhagen, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Florida College of Medicine, United States; President, International Society for Social Pediatrics and Child Health

Sally Holland, Athro Gwaith Cymdeithasol / Professor of Social Work, Ysgol Gwyddorau Cymdeithasol Caerdydd / Cardiff School of Social Sciences; Children’s Commissioner for Wales (2015-2022), United Kingdom

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Fahmy and Donna Attallah Chair in Humanistic Psychology; Director, USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (candle.usc.edu); Professor of Education, Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Southern California, United States

Shin-ichi Ishikawa, Professor, Faculty of Psychology, Doshisha University, Japan

Philip D. Jaffé, Professor, Center for Children’s Rights Studies, University of Geneva, Switzerland; Member, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Victor P. Karunan, Visiting Professor, Social Policy and Development, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand

Ondrej Kascak, Professor of Education and Head of Department, University of Trnava, Slovakia

Olga Khazova, former member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2013-2021)

Ursula Kilkelly, Professor, School of Law, University College Cork, Ireland

Lothar Krappmann, Professor Doctor, Senior Researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany (retired); former Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2003 - 2011)

Mercedes Mayol Lassalle, Professor of Education, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina; World President, Organisation Mondiale pour l’Éducation Préscolaire (OMEP)

Yanghee Lee, Professor Emeritus, Sungkyunkwan University, Republic of Korea; Former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar; Former Chairperson of UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; President of International Child Rights Center; Founding Member of Special Advisory Council for Myanmar

Manfred Liebel, Professor Doctor, University of Applied Sciences Potsdam; Master Childhood Studies and Children’s Rights (MACR), Germany

Ton Liefaard, Professor of Children’s Rights, UNICEF Chair in Children’s Rights, Leiden University, The Netherlands

Laura Lundy, Professor of Children’s Rights, Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom; Professor of Law, University College Cork, Ireland

Kofi Marfo, Professor and Founding Director of the Institute for Human Development at Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya

Helen May, Professor Emerita of Education, University of Otago, New Zealand

Benyam Dawit Mezmur, Professor of Law, University of the Western Cape, South Africa; Member, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

Linda Mitchell, Professor of Education, University of Waikato, New Zealand

Zoe Moody, Professor, University of Teacher Education Valais & Center for Children's Rights Studies, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Peter Moss, Emeritus Professor of Early Childhood Provision, Institute of Education, University College London, United Kingdom

Vernor Muñoz, Head of Policy & Advocacy, Global Campaign for Education, Costa Rica; Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education

Endeley Margaret Nalova, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of Buea, Cameroon

Elin Eriksen Ødegaard, Professor of Early Childhood Education, Director of KINDknow Research Centre, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway

Conor O'Mahony, Professor, University College Cork School of Law, Ireland

Ann Quennerstedt, Professor of Education, School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, Örebro University, Sweden

Sylvie Rayna, Professor Emerita; Senior Research Fellow, Centre de Recherche Interuniversitaire Expérience Ressources Culturelles Éducation (EXPERICE), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France

Elin Kirsti Lie Reikerås, Professor in Early Childhood Education, Leader of FILIORUM – Centre for Research in Early Childhood Education and Care, The University of Stavanger, Norway

Axel Rivas, Professor and Dean, School of Education; Director, Center for Applied Research in Education (CIAESA), Universidad de San Andrés, Argentina

Nevena Vuckovic Sahovic, Professor of International Public Law and Rights of the Child, Child Rights Centre, Belgrade, Serbia

Iram Siraj, Professor of Child Development and Education, University of Oxford, United Kingdom; Distinguished Research Professor University of Maynooth, Ireland

Mariana Souto-Manning, President and Irving and Neison Harris President’s Chair, The Erikson Institute Graduate School in Child Development, United States

Helen Stalford, Professor of Law, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom

Beth Swadener, Professor Emerita, School of Social Transformation, Arizona State University, United States

David B. Thronson, Alan S. Zekelman Professor of International Human Rights Law, Michigan State University College of Law, United States

Kay Tisdall, Professor of Childhood Policy, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

John Tobin, Francine V McNiff Chair in International Human Rights Law, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Australia

Afua Twum-Danso Imoh, Associate Professor in Global Childhoods and Welfare, University of Bristol, United Kingdom

Michel Vandenbroeck, Professor of Family Pedagogy, Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, Ghent University, Belgium

Wouter Vandenhole, Full Professor of Human and Children’s Rights, Law and Development Research Group, University of Antwerp, Belgium

Emily Vargas-Barón, Director, Institute for Reconstruction and International Security through Education (RISE), Washington, DC, United States

Philip Veerman, CPsychol, Health Psychologist, Youth Intervention Team, The Hague, The Netherlands

Ana Vergara del Solar, Professor, School of Psychology, Universidad de Santiago, Chile

Joanna Williams, Senior Director of Research, Search Institute, United States

Nicolás Espejo Yaksic, Centre for Constitutional Studies, Supreme Court of Mexico, Mexico

Kazuhiro Yoshida, Professor/Director, Center for the Study of International Cooperation in Education (CICE), IDEC Institute, Hiroshima University, Japan

Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Courtney Sale Ross University Professor of Globalization and Education, Department of Applied Psychology, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, United States

[Note: Affiliations are listed for identification purposes only.]

[1] There are currently three Optional Protocols to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child: Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (adopted in 2000; currently 178 states parties); Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (adopted in 2000, currently 173 states parties); Optional Protocol on a communications procedure (adopted in 2011; currently 52 states parties).

[2] While as researchers we recognize that early childhood care and education starts from birth, we are cognizant of resource limitations in many areas of the world. We support efforts to ensure at least one year of pre-primary education for all children, while states and civil society work to secure the resources needed to develop more comprehensive early childhood care and education programs.

NEW PUBLICATION: Deprivation of Liberty as a Last Resort: Understanding the Children's Rights Law Mandate for Youth Justice

“Deprivation of Liberty as a Last Resort: Understanding the Children’s Rights Law Mandate for Youth Justice,” Stanford Journal of International Law, 60: 1-27 (2024) (with Lauren Meeler)

Abstract

International law is consistent in affirming that the deprivation of liberty should be a “last resort” for children. This norm is affirmed by the extensive evidence that detention is detrimental to the wellbeing and healthy development of young people. Yet while it is broadly understood that detention of children and youth should be uncommon, there is much less clarity around what the “last resort” mandate means in practice—that is, under what circumstances is detention permissible and what, if anything, must states do prior to considering the detention of a young person. Drawing on scholarship on criminal justice and human rights, the work of international treaty bodies, and other human rights sources, this Article explores the meaning of “last resort” under international law, focusing in particular on the use of arrest, detention, and imprisonment in the youth justice context. The Article then proposes a framework for operationalizing the “last resort” mandate so that governments can respond in a more rights-affirming manner to children who are in conflict with the law.

Full article available for download here.

NEW PUBLICATION: Confronting Categorical Exclusions Based on Age: The Rights of Children and Youth

“Confronting Categorical Exclusions Based on Age: The Rights of Children and Youth,” Harvard Human Rights Journal, 36: 283-297 (2023) .

 Click here for link to full article.

Abstract:

In the United States (as in any country), a significant percentage of the population has no voting rights, is prohibited from holding public office, has restricted access to employment opportunities, and is subjected to greater restrictions on their participation rights such as freedom of expression, association, and assembly. Such categorical denials of rights typically would be met with accusations of discrimination. However, because the group is children, such differential treatment is rarely questioned. Bright-line rules dividing childhood and adulthood, while advantageous for administrative reasons, fail both to recognize the full personhood of young people and account for developing nature of childhood. They also deprive communities and countries of valuable contributions from their youngest members. This article examines such bright-line distinctions, which have most commonly been drawn at 18 years old. It focuses in particular on young people’s participation rights. Evolving understandings of both children’s rights and child and adolescent development necessitate a questioning of categorical exclusions and a rethinking of the legal regulation of childhood and emerging adulthood.

NEW PUBLICATION: Bringing the Right to Education into the 21st Century

I’m really excited to announce the next article in our data analytics project that examines the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. For more on the background of this project, click here.

Jonathan Todres & Charlotte Alexander, “Bringing the Right to Education into the 21st Century,” Berkeley Journal of International Law, vol. 42 (forthcoming Winter 2024).

Click here for access to the full pre-publication draft.

Abstract

Education is not only foundational to children’s development, it also helps children realize the full range of their rights. Yet the international law mandate on the right to education has changed little since 1948. This static state has left the right to education unfulfilled for millions of children. This article argues that it is time to update the legal mandate on education, and in particular with respect to pre-primary and secondary education. The article starts by explicating the limitations in the current mandate on the right to education, and then evaluates whether so-called “soft law,” or non-binding measures, have helped fill the gap in existing treaty law on education rights. As a case study, the article uses a combination of manual review and computational text analytics to examine discussions of education in the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child from 1993-2020. These reports issued by the Committee evaluate states parties’ progress in meeting their children’s rights treaty obligations and, as such, are a primary vehicle for advancing the implementation of human rights. Finding that non-binding measures are insufficient in practice, the article concludes that the international community needs to agree to an updated legal mandate on education that ensures all children have access to an equitable start and can complete secondary education and develop to their full potential.

NEW PUBLICATION: Age Discrimination and the Personhood of Children and Youth

Jonathan Todres, “Age Discrimination and the Personhood of Children and Youth,” Harvard Human Rights Journal Online, Dec. 2022, https://harvardhrj.com/2022/12/age-discrimination-and-the-personhood-of-children-and-youth/

Abstract

A significant percentage of the population of the United States, or any other country, lives without voting rights, is prohibited from holding public office, has restricted access to employment opportunities, and is subjected to greater restrictions on their participation rights such as freedom of expression, association, and assembly. These bright-line rules dividing childhood and adulthood, while advantageous for administrative reasons, fail both to recognize the full personhood of young people and account for developing nature of childhood. They also deprive communities and countries of valuable contributions from their youngest members. This essay questions such bright-line distinctions, which have most commonly been drawn at 18 years old. It focuses in particular on young people’s participation rights. Evolving understandings of both children’s rights and child and adolescent development necessitate a rethinking of the legal regulation of childhood and emerging adulthood.

NEW PUBLICATION: Reimagining Children’s Rights in the United States

Elizabeth Barnert, Joseph Wright, Charlene Choi, Jonathan Todres, Neal Halfon, “Reimagining Children’s Rights in the United States,” JAMA Pediatrics (published online Oct. 24, 2022, doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.38222022; print forthcoming)

Click here for access to the article.

New publication: Listening to young people could help reduce pandemic-related harms to children

I recently coauthored an essay for The Conversation with Dr. Tammy Chang:

Listening to young people could help reduce pandemic-related harms to children

As the COVID-19 pandemic extends into a third year, experts have gained a much better understanding of its consequences for the health and development of children and adolescents.

They range from learning loss to mental health issues to housing and food insecurity to contracting the virus itself.

We are a law professor who focuses on children’s rights and well-being and a practicing family physician who researches adolescent health. We and other researchers have found that over the past two years, governments have missed opportunities to better understand and address what young people have been going through as they navigate the pandemic.

A better understanding of the pandemic’s effects on young people is essential to developing policy responses that can address the breadth of harms children and adolescents are experiencing….

(continue reading at The Conversation)

NEW PUBLICATION: Children's Rights and Human Rights Education Through Museums

“Children’s Rights and Human Rights Education through Museums,” Boston University Public Interest Law Journal, 31(3): 239-274 (2022) (co-authored, with Anissa Malik)

Click here for link to full article.

Abstract

Human rights education has been recognized as critical to the advancement of human rights and the promotion of rights-respecting communities. Despite its value, many countries have lagged in their efforts to implement human rights education programs. Where human rights education has gained traction, it has been largely centered around school-based learning. For human rights education to be successful, policymakers and practitioners need to be creative in exploring diverse ways to implement and advance human rights education. This Article argues that it is critical for human rights education and, more specifically, children’s rights education to expand beyond classroom-based learning opportunities to take advantage of other spaces where young people spend time and where education about rights is possible. Given the value of the arts as a vehicle for expressing and advocating for human rights, this Article explores the role that museums might play in advancing human rights education for children. Museums are important fixtures in many cities and towns across the globe. In the United States, nearly 60% of the population visits a museum at least once a year. This gives museums broad reach and the potential to make human rights widely known. Further, shifts currently occurring within museums suggest this is a particularly important time to consider the role of museums vis-à-vis human rights. Many museums are becoming more focused on social justice issues. This evolution occurring in many museums highlights an opportunity for greater and deeper engagement among museum professionals, educators, and human rights researchers and advocates. This Article makes the case for growing and deepening such partnerships. It emphasizes the importance of attention to children’s rights and ensuring that all museums, not just children’s museums, consider their role in engaging young people on the topic of human rights.

NEW PUBLICATION: Advancing Children's Rights Through the Arts

I’m really excited to see this article in print. It builds on earlier work I’ve done, exploring human rights and children’s rights in children’s literature, and expands the project to consider how the arts can be a critical role in human rights education and the advancement of children’s rights and well-being.

Jonathan Todres & Ursula Kilkelly, “Advancing Children’s Rights through the Arts,” Human Rights Quarterly, 44(1): 38-55 (2022)

Abstract:

Although the Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified human rights treaty, threats to children’s rights persist globally. One reason is that states have not met their threshold obligation to ensure that children’s rights are widely known, so that they may be respected and ensured. This article argues that an important way to disseminate children’s rights among children and adults is to partner with the arts. The article examines the benefits of a partnership between children’s rights and the arts and discusses the key elements of a children’s rights approach to the arts, as well as challenges to address.

NEW PUBLICATION: Evaluating the Implementation of Human Rights Law: A Data Analytics Research Agenda

Excited to report that our first article in our data analytics and children’s rights project is now in print!

Charlotte Alexander & Jonathan Todres, “Evaluating the Implementation of Human Rights Law: A Data Analytics Research Agenda,” University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, 43(1): 1-77 (2021).

See below for a link to the full article.

Abstract:

Human rights law relies on national-level implementation and enforcement to give it full meaning. The United Nations’ reporting process, a built-in component of all major human rights treaties, enables monitoring and evaluation of countries’ progress toward human rights goals. However, the operation and effectiveness of this process have been largely under-studied. This Article lays the foundations for a data analytics research agenda that can help assess the reporting process and inform human rights law implementation. As a first step, we use a relatively new set of computational tools to evaluate the Concluding Observations issued by a human rights treaty body, the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Concluding Observations provide both an appraisal of states’ practices and a set of recommendations that act as an agenda for the state going forward. Using text and data analytics tools, we mined the text of Concluding Observations issued by the Committee on the Rights of the Child over a twenty-seven year period to identify the topics addressed in each report and parsed the language of these reports to determine the tenor and tone of the Committee’s discussion. We then mapped our findings by state and year, to form a detailed descriptive picture of what the Committee has said, and how the Committee has delivered its message(s), across both geography and time. In doing so, we hope to show how these data analytics tools can contribute to a deeper understanding of the Committee’s work and, more broadly, of the effectiveness of the reporting process in securing and protecting human rights.

Click here to access the full article.

NEW PUBLICATION: Book Review of Michael Freeman's "A Magna Carta for Children? Rethinking Children's Rights"

I was delighted to have the opportunity to review Michael Freeman’s book, “A Magna Carta for Children? Rethinking Children’s Rights,” for the Carnegie Council’s Ethics & International Affairs journal. As I wrote:

For those well versed in children’s rights, reading Freeman’s book is like signing up for a walking tour of your hometown with one of the foremost authorities on the city—you wind your way through familiar territory but are nonetheless enriched at each turn by the insights of, and reflections by, your expert guide. For those less familiar with children’s rights, Freeman’s book may well be the definitive starting point.

The full review is available here and here.

Jonathan Todres, Book Review, “A Magna Carta for Children? Rethinking Children’s Rights, Michael Freeman (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2020).” Ethics & International Affairs, 35(4), 581-583 (Winter 2021).

NEW PUBLICATION: Can Litigation Help Reduce Bullying?

I have just published a new editorial, “Can Litigation Help Reduce Bullying?” in JAMA Pediatrics.

Click here to see the article.

NEW PUBLICATION: R. Kelly Convicted, but Prevention of Human Trafficking Demands More

New op-ed published in Newsweek, October 5, 2021.

Guilty of sex trafficking. It is what singer R. Kelly deserved. While the result was a positive, long-overdue step, we also need to recognize that we're not going to prosecute our way out of human trafficking.

Each successful prosecution in the fight against human trafficking also reflects a failure to prevent harm, as the powerful voices of trafficking survivors keep reminding us….

To keep reading, click here for the full opinion piece.

NEW PUBLICATION: Including Youth Voices in Our Democracy

Full text below. Published by Human Rights at Home and First Focus.

Including Youth Voices in Our Democracy 

Jonathan Todres & Adrianna Zhang

With the number of COVID-19 cases rising again, children in the US are facing the potential of a third straight school year being disrupted by the pandemic. Yet as policymakers and school administrators make decisions about reopening protocols, an essential group has been largely left out of the conversation: young people.

The U.S. prides itself on being a beacon of democracy. But 73 million constituents have little to no voice in our democracy. Politicians consistently overlook and marginalize individuals under 18 years old. Over the past year, policymakers have spent more time talking about and prioritizing reopening restaurants and bars than addressing the housing insecurity, educational disruptions, and mental health consequences of the pandemic that millions of children have experienced.

These are big issues to confront, requiring complex solutions. What is baffling is that in many areas, decision-makers are attempting to address school issues—or any issues affecting children—without ever talking to young people. Young people are not just part of some elusive future; they are ready to contribute to their communities now.

The government, at every level, must become more accessible to and inclusive of youth, especially those from historically underrepresented groups. Youth engagement will introduce new perspectives on current issues and help inspire solutions to persistent problems. As the new school-year is beginning, education is an obvious starting place for including young people’s voices.

Schools can start by surveying young people about challenges they face and any ideas they have for ensuring all students succeed. To be clear, listening to children should not replace communications with, and input from, parents and other caregivers—parents and caregivers are essential partners. But young people have insights that adults don’t, just as adults have perspectives that young people don’t. There is absolutely no downside to hearing from young people, unless we’re afraid of what they’ll tell us.

So, survey all students. Young people’s tech-savvy makes this easier than you might think. Better yet, schools should involve young people in the design of the survey, so they ensure that they ask the right questions and not just questions that serve adults’ interests. Then schools need to set up a process for ensuring ongoing dialogue with young people—all students, not just those they find easy to work with. 

A partnership with young people cannot be limited just to individual schools. School district leaders can do better as well. School boards and superintendents should hold their meetings at accessible times so students do not have to miss class to ensure their voices are heard. They also should allocate a designated portion of public comment times to youth.

Other agencies with mandates that affect children—from health care, to transportation, to urban development—should follow suit. Just imagine, for example, what policymakers might learn if they heard from young people about their transportation needs. They would learn that many youth need better transportation systems not just to attend school but also to travel to work so they can help their families economically.

It’s not enough, however, just to open the doors to young people. Governments need to enhance efforts to teach young people how to effectively engage with agencies and make their voices heard. Schools are central to this, but every government agency can provide interactive guidance to young people so they can learn to present their ideas more effectively. Not only will this ensure agencies hear all good ideas, but civic engagement can lead to improved academic performance and enhanced social-emotional wellbeing for students.

Finally, we have to go beyond making existing spaces more open to youth. We need to create more avenues for young people to engage, from direct representation through local youth commissions to statewide ombudsperson offices for children. These exist in some places, but they need to be in all cities and states. At the federal level, young people have already urged President Biden to create an executive “Office of Young Americans” and appoint a “Director of Youth Engagement” who would sit on the Domestic Policy Council.

Partnering with young people will not only help confront pressing issues in schools and other settings, it will also help longer term by teaching young people the skills needed for effective participation in a democratic society, which ironically adults expect them to have the moment they turn 18.

There is no shortage of ways to involve young people. Doing so will help build a stronger democracy. Equally important, young people deserve to have a voice and feel valued in the community they grow up in and will live in for years to come.

The starting point is simple: We need to see, and treat, young people as genuine partners.

Jonathan Todres is a Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Law at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Adrianna Zhang is Founder and Executive Director of SF CHANGE and a high school senior in San Francisco.

NEW PUBLICATION: A Healthy Digital Environment for Children Means More than Protection

Full text below. Published by Human Rights at Home and First Focus.

A Healthy Digital Environment for Children Means More than Protection

Jonathan Todres & Joseph Wright

For young people, the digital environment is a modern-day playground or park. It is where they hang out, socialize, and learn. But ask any parent or policymaker about children and online environments, and chances are they mostly see health and safety risks.

Protecting children from online exploitation, privacy violations, and manipulative business practices is vital. However, focusing exclusively on protection isn’t enough to ensure the online world is a healthy, positive space for children. It’s like building a playground fixating only on safety, and abandoning any consideration of child development, the importance of play, and children’s social interactions.

Today, online spaces are a focal point of young people’s lives. Young children (8-12 years old) report almost 5 hours of screen time per day, while teenagers report more than 7 hours per day, not including school or homework time. And the COVID-19 pandemic has only added to that.

But as children live more of their lives online, it has become clear that the digital world, like most public spaces throughout history, was not designed specifically for kids. Research shows that the digital environment is adversely affecting children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. These issues demand a response, but the goal cannot be just to avoid harm. Instead, we must affirmatively mold the digital environment into a space where children can develop and thrive.  

Although social media and tech companies might feel too big to control, the digital environment is not a fixed space. It is continuously evolving, so we have the opportunity, and responsibility, to shape the online world into a healthier, more enriching space for young people.

To do so requires several steps. First, we must stop thinking of children as a homogenous group. The needs and capacities of a 15-year-old and 5-year-old differ. Failing to account for these differences infantilizes adolescents and spurs responses that fit poorly with children’s developmental stages. Our policies and strategies must reflect the diversity of childhood and be responsive to child development, just as many playgrounds have different equipment for different ages of children.

Second, we need to see children as individuals with rights and not merely charitable causes needing protection. Yes, children need protection from online exploitation. In fact, they have a right to protection. But seeing children as rights holders means much more than a claim to protection; it means ensuring all rights of children online, including the right to education, to enjoy their own culture, and to play. That also means policies must not deny children their rights in the name of protecting or “saving” them.

Protective measures are needed, especially for young children, but they must be combined with measures that empower young people to navigate online spaces safely and reap the benefits of the online world. Digital literacy education offers one means of achieving this. It’s analogous to teaching children how to develop healthy relationships and avoid toxic or unsafe situations, rather than simply prohibiting them from leaving the house.

Third, we must recognize young people as members of our community who have a right to be heard now, and not only at some ill-defined point in the future. The digital environment can be a space where children learn about their rights and civic duties, make their voices heard, and articulate a better vision for our world. What would have been isolated school strikes to protest climate change 15 years ago have become global movements because of organizing and activism online. While Greta Thunberg’s stand may be one of the most recognizable examples of young people leading, there are countless others. In the United States, young people have emerged as leading voices on gun violence, climate change, racial injustice, and other issues, and they have used social media to build movements and demand action by both policymakers and the private sector.

Embracing these ideas does not mean abandoning efforts to protect children. We must address online exploitation, cyberbullying, and racial and gender-based discrimination online. But we don’t need to settle for harm avoidance as the best we can do. After all, today we design safer parks and playgrounds, where the risk of injury is significantly reduced but young people are still free to express themselves and to explore, interact, and develop.

Ultimately, we need a better vision of what the digital environment can become. Young people are already showing us that. Policymakers and tech companies need to join child advocates and parents in partnering with young people to help reshape the digital environment into a space in which children are not only safe but can thrive.

Jonathan Todres is a Distinguished University Professor & Professor of Law at Georgia State University College of Law. Joseph Wright is a Ph.D. candidate in education and MPH student in community health sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles.

NEW PUBLICATION: Confronting Housing Insecurity—A Key to Getting Kids Back to School

Published in JAMA Pediatrics (online June 7, 2021), doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.1085 (coauthored with Lauren Meeler)

Discussions about the impact of COVID-19 on children have primarily centered around disruptions in education. Some students are approaching a year since they have been in the classroom, and the challenges and inequities of virtual learning are well documented. But as momentum and planning for reopenings have grown, an issue continues to be overlooked: housing and the looming eviction cliff. Housing insecurity undermines children’s education, and unless we address it, the return to in-school instruction will not solve the inequities harming so many children.

[To continue reading, click here: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2780351.]

An “Alternative Assignment” for Law Students

I have been thinking a lot about work/life balance, for both students and faculty. So, I decided to try something this semester in my seminar. I gave students an option: Instead of the last writing assignment, they could take a break. Their choice: (a) do the writing assignment; or (b) take a 72-hour break from work. Thankfully, everyone chose the break (full disclosure: if they hadn’t, I would have assigned it). Details are below in case you want to have your students try it.

My initial reflections: This was one of the better teaching decisions I’ve made in a long time. When I confirmed to the class that we would do this, their relief was visible (and I’m teaching on zoom). That moment alone highlighted how much this was needed. They had worked plenty hard already this semester; this was about thinking what it’s like to be in their shoes and prioritizing their wellbeing. To date, a couple students have already completed the “alternative assignment,” and their experiences have reinforced how important this was. Unplugging entirely from law school (or work) has become really hard. So, we (faculty) need to find more creative ways to support students’ efforts to create and sustain a healthy work/life balance. There’s much more to say; I’ll update this space after all students have completed the assignment. And subject to securing their permission, I might also share some of their reflections.

Now, the details on the assignment: Students were “required” to take a break from work for 72 hours. They could count weekends, so it only had to implicate one business day. My goal was to pick an achievable amount of time. I set the end of May as the deadline to give them the option to do this after exams ended. As I explained to them, I did not want this to interfere with any other class work. Whenever they did it, to get credit, they simply had to send me an email sharing what they did and how it felt (no one was required to share anything personal; just whatever they were comfortable sharing). The most important “rule”: This should not add pressure/stress to their lives. So, if they felt they simply couldn’t afford time off, or if they tried and fell short of 72 hours, that’s okay too. The only things that were required were (a) a good faith effort, and (b) honest disclosure. So, if a student reported that they attempted it, but had to do 2-hours of work at one point, that counted. The idea was simply that, together, we were all going to try to take a break. And so far, the results have been exactly what I had hoped for.

I am looking forward to hearing from the other students. And as I promised them, I plan to attempt the same and share results.

(Note: if you try this or something similar in your class, please email and let me know how it goes.)

FALL 2021 UPDATE: The vast majority of students in the class have continued to work on their papers, even after the course ended—and for several students, after they graduated. In other words, giving students the opportunity to have balance seemed to allow them to engage the materials more meaningfully, and it did not lead to any less commitment to work hard.

NEW PUBLICATION: Children and Disasters: The Essential Role of Children's Rights Law

Abstract:

Although children constitute approximately one-third of the world’s population, they remain marginalized when it comes to law and policy discourses and actions. Disasters do not change this dynamic. Despite being the face of media portrayals in the aftermath of disasters, children often are relegated to the margins and not adequately accounted for in disaster response initiatives. Moreover, children continue to receive insufficient attention in research on disasters and their impact, even though in disaster settings, they are among the most vulnerable and hard-hit populations.

This chapter, published in the Yearbook of International Disaster Law, discusses the various ways disasters affect children and the international law frameworks relevant to children and disasters (notably IDRL and children’s rights law). It then examines how the international community and national governments must reframe their approach to children in the context of disasters so that they are no longer overlooked, urging a mainstreaming of both children’s views and children’s rights in the prevention of and responses to disasters.

Click here for free access to a draft of the article.

For published version, see Jonathan Todres, “Children and Disasters: the Essential Role of Children’s Rights Law.” In Yearbook of International Disaster Law, volume 2 (Giulio Bartolini et al., eds., 2021), https://brill.com/view/journals/yido/2/1/article-p177_8.xml.

NEW PUBLICATION: Confronting Child Trafficking

Abstract: In this essay, based on a lecture delivered at the Hall Center for Law and Health at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, I reflect on anti-trafficking efforts over the past twenty years. I then outline the framework of a public health approach to child trafficking, with a view to developing a comprehensive, integrated response that prevents the harm from occurring.

Click here to access the full article: https://bit.ly/2Ynb2E7

Bringing Mental Health to the Forefront

October 10th marks World Mental Health Day. Although international days typically do not get much coverage in the United States, World Mental Health Day deserves attention this year due to the significant impact of COVID-19.

In the United States, the epicenter of the pandemic, COVID-19 related job losses, looming evictions, school closures, social isolation, and related issues have spurred stress, anxiety, depression, and other adverse mental health consequences.

The mental and behavioral health consequences have been particularly significant for single-parent families and families with young children. More broadly, evidence suggests that the pandemic is causing an increase in the number of children with mental health issues and worsening children’s existing mental health issues. In addition, COVID-19 related school closings have disrupted children’s access to mental health services. As reported in JAMA Pediatrics, “[A]mong adolescents who received any mental health services during 2012 to 2015, 35% received their mental health services exclusively from school settings.”

The short- and long-term mental health consequences of the pandemic are profound. Although the CARES Act included some funding for mental health services, the second round of stimulus is bogged down in political fighting while children and families continue to suffer. The delays in meeting children’s mental health needs could alter children’s life trajectories.

The occasion of World Mental Health Day highlights three critical shortcomings in the United States. First, we continue to overlook children. Instead of focusing on the safe reopening of schools—and children’s educational, social, and emotional wellbeing—many states have prioritized reopening bars and restaurants. Second, mental health continues to be largely ignored, which tragically is not a new problem in the US. And third, the failure of the U.S. government to embrace children's rights, and human rights mandates more broadly, leaves children and families at a disadvantage—having to rely on charity instead of being able to realize their inherent rights.

Progress on these issues ultimately will require a mindset shift and a recognition that children, mental health, and rights genuinely matter. That’s admittedly a long-term project, when most are focused on the election and events in the near term. But perhaps World Mental Health Day can help start (or rekindle) a dialogue on these underlying issues that are essential to improving the wellbeing of all individuals in the United States.