2026 CLE + COMMUNITY SEMINAR

September 25–26, 2026

Savannah, Georgia

Please note the agenda 
is subject to change.

8:30–9 am

registration + coffee

9–10 AM

The ABCs of SVP

Building Confident Student Defenders, One Case at a Time‍ ‍

Danielle Simpson Alford

Founder and Managing Attorney, Georgia Teen Legal Defense
J.D. Candidate, Georgia State University School of Law, 
Class of 2027

Ashton Miller

This opening session is designed for new attorneys and law students who want the practical knowledge and confidence to successfully represent students facing school discipline. Together, we will walk through how Safety Valve Project cases are handled from intake through hearing and appeals. Participants will learn how to analyze a case, identify legal issues, develop a theory of representation, conduct effective legal research, and maximize the partnership between attorneys and law students to build strong, client-centered advocacy. We'll share the practical systems, strategies, and research methods that have helped us successfully handle numerous disciplinary hearings and appeals together.

This session will introduce participants to the Safety Valve Project's mission of ensuring that every student has meaningful access to legal representation when their education is on the line. We'll discuss the unique landscape of Georgia school discipline, and SVP's approach to holistic, student-centered representation that looks beyond the incident and focuses on protecting each child's future.

Mitigation for Student Discipline Cases‍ ‍

10–11 AM

Jan Vogelsang

Owner, 
Vogelsang Consulting, Inc.

Felicia Sullivan

Owner, Life Stories Mitigation 
& Sentencing Advocacy, LLC
The keystone to the SVP model is mitigation. Untrained lawyers can develop mitigation on their own, but SVP believes in employing trained professionals to investigate and present evidence that a student’s removal from a regular classroom setting is unnecessary. Most tribunal cases turn not on the merits but on the degree of discipline imposed. Mitigation specialists often are the difference in the outcome of a case. Jan and Felicia will address what mitigation looks like in the student discipline context.

11 – 11:15 am

break ‍

Storytelling through records ‍

11:15 AM – 12:15 Pm

Elizabeth Taxel

Associate Professor of Law, University of Georgia 
School of Law
Records tell stories, but only when advocates know how to find them and use them. In this session, Professor Taxel draws on her expertise in trial prep to show how disciplinary advocates can use school records, IEPs, behavioral data, medical and DFCS records, and prior disciplinary documentation as building blocks of a compelling, humanizing narrative for their student clients.

Working in tandem with the morning’s mitigation session, Professor Taxel will equip participants with practical frameworks for identifying the most powerful records and weaving them into opening statements, direct examination, and closing arguments, ensuring that the student’s story is heard clearly and persuasively by those who decide their fate.

Lunchtime Panel with Former Clients and Parents ‍

12:30–1:30 Pm

Michael Schwartz

Grab a sandwich in the lobby and join us for an hour of reflection on real-life past cases. Hear perspectives on the disciplinary process and its effects on students and families, as former clients and their parents who experienced disciplinary tribunals first-hand share how the experience affected them.
Executive Director, 
Safety Valve Project

1:30–1:45 pm

2026 SVP awards ‍

1:45–2:45 Pm

Appellate Update ‍

The State Board of Education hears appeals of disciplinary actions from school districts across the state. In 2024, the Board published 63 decisions. Last year, the Board published 58 decisions. These additions to the tiny universe of case law that governs Georgia school discipline have changed the landscape for students facing disciplinary actions. Josh Lingsch returns for a second year to help us to navigate the new terrain.
Attorney and Founder, 
Georgia Children’s Defense, LLC

Josh Lingsch

2:45–3 pm

Break ‍

Trial Skills for
Disciplinary Hearings ‍

3–4 Pm

Jack Grote

Senior Staff Attorney, 
Georgia Appleseed
Jack Grote, who has handled more disciplinary hearings than most practicing attorneys in Georgia, will share candid reflections on what new advocates should expect, including challenges, lessons learned, and strategies that prove effective before the variety of types of disciplinary tribunals in Georgia. The session will feature audience participation to develop techniques in pre-hearing objections, opening statements, witness examinations, and closing arguments.

Handling Your First Case ‍

4–5 Pm

Lynsey Barron

SVP’s model has, so far, relied on volunteer attorneys to represent students across Georgia. Lynsey Barron, an accomplished federal criminal defense attorney, handled her first student discipline case in 2026. In the final hour of the day, she will share her experience, walk the audience through her process (which led to a successful result), and answer questions for attorneys planning to handle their first cases in the 2026-2027 school year.
Partner, Barron Ward LLC