Jenni Owen is the Director of Policy Initiatives at Duke’s Center for Child and Family Policy and is on the faculty of the Sanford School of Public Policy. She also co-directs the School Research Partnership at Duke. Her focus is on enhancing interaction among research, policy, and practice. Prior work related to this project includes a legislative education North Carolina Family Impact Seminar on school suspension and a Scholars Strategy Network brief on alternatives to suspension, in addition to an op-ed on the issue. Owen holds B.A. and Masters of Public Administration degrees from Harvard University.

Jane Wettach is a Clinical Professor of Law at Duke Law School, where she directs the Children’s Law Clinic and teaches Education Law. As the Director of the Children’s Law Clinic, Wettach focuses on both individual legal representation of children in special education and school discipline matters and broader advocacy for children and youth. Of particular interest is the area of school discipline and promoting alternatives to the use of school exclusion as a discipline tool. Wettach is a frequent speaker on issues involving the educational rights of children, including children with disabilities, and has been involved in impact litigation on behalf of school children. Wettach received her B.A. and her J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Katie Claire Hoffman contributed to this publication while a third-year student at Duke Law School. She is now an Assistant Public Defender at the office of the Mecklenburg County Public Defender.