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Tonya Osinkosky
Tonya joined the Legal Aid Justice Center in the fall of 2014. Prior to that, she worked in education and health advocacy with immigrant communities in the Shenandoah Valley for 19 years through the Shenandoah Migrant Education Program, Harrisonburg City Public Schools, and Sentara RMH Medical Center. From 2016 to 2017, as part of LAJC, […]
Read morePlaintiffs Settle Fluvanna Prison Health Care Case
November 26, 2014 The Legal Aid Justice Center announced that it had reached a settlement in our lawsuit on behalf of women incarcerated at Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women. WileyRein and Washington Lawyers’ Committed are co-counsel for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The lawsuit asserted that the 1200 women incarcerated at FCCW are being provided […]
Read moreRPS Improves Language Policies for Families
Richmond Public Schools Agrees to Significant Improvements in Policies for Non-English-Speaking Families – Agreement with U.S. Department of Education Resolves Civil Rights Complaint Filed by the Legal Aid Justice Center As the result of a complaint filed by the Legal Aid Justice Center with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, the Richmond […]
Read moreInappropriate Use of Restraint & Seclusion in Schools
U.S. Department of Education Finds Inappropriate Use of Restraint and Seclusion of Students with Disabilities at Virginia Schools Following a comprehensive investigation at two public special education schools, the U.S. Department of Education has found that the repeated use of physical restraint and seclusion to manage student behavior is ineffective and inappropriate. The Department’s Office […]
Read more“Child Find” Complaint Filed in Petersburg
The JustChildren Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center has filed a complaint with the Virginia Department of Education describing systemic problems with Petersburg City Public Schools’ “Child Find” program. Child Find is a part of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) that requires that schools provide free, appropriate education to children with […]
Read moreLegal Battle Against Zombie Debt Collectors
On March 27, 2014, we filed a lawsuit, Leoncio Paz v. Midland Funding, in Fairfax County. Our complaint alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA) based on Midland’s direct falsehoods and false implications in its attempt to obtain a default judgment against Mr. Paz. Midland withdrew their collection attempt when we stepped […]
Read moreImmigrant Clients Win In-State Tuition
Seven courageous immigrant students represented by Legal Aid Justice Center have won their effort to gain in-state tuition eligibility—not just for themselves, but for thousands of Virginia recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announced this morning that DACA recipients are eligible to apply for in-state tuition under existing […]
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Pat Levy-Lavelle
Pat Levy-Lavelle is Senior Intake Attorney at Legal Aid Justice Center in Richmond. Since coming to Legal Aid Justice Center in 2005, Pat has done individual representation and impact advocacy on a wide range of topics, including workers’ rights, tenants’ rights and public housing policy issues, and the disproportionate impact of court debt (fines and […]
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