Andrew Siske is a second-year law student at the University of Baltimore (UB) who aspires to dedicate his legal career to serving youth and adults with disabilities by advocating for educational and other civil rights of persons with disabilities in courts and legislatures alike.
At UB, Andrew serves as the Treasurer for the University of Baltimore Students for Public Interest (UBSPI). UBSPI raises funds throughout each year for a grant program which enables UB law students to work full-time summer internships with government agencies and non-profit organizations. With a UBSPI grant, Andrew spent the summer of 2016 as a law clerk for Project HEAL at Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI). In that capacity, Andrew assisted in providing advocacy and legal services to KKI patients and families on a variety of legal issues relating to public benefits, custody, and special education matters. In addition, Andrew personally advocated on behalf of a parent during a school meeting and successfully obtained a 504 plan for a student. Further, Andrew presented a poster regarding assistive technology and the least restrictive environment mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for the Association of University Centers on Disabilities’ 2016 national conference.
Throughout his second year of school, Andrew has served as a student fellow with the Center for Families, Children, and the Courts (CFCC) at UB. During his fall semester, Andrew conducted research on the educational rights of unaccompanied homeless youth (UHY) and produced brochures for both UHY and professionals working with UHY. During his spring semester, Andrew served as a clerk with CFCC’s Truancy Court Program at National Academy Foundation, where he worked with a team of professionals to help identify factors preventing chronically truant middle and high school students from getting to school regularly and on time.
Since February 2016, Andrew has volunteered with Paul’s Place, an after-school program for students in southwest Baltimore. This past February, Andrew started volunteering weekly with Reading Partners, a non-profit organization which provides reading interventions for K thru 4th grade youth who are behind reading level.
Andrew began his legislative internship with The Arc Maryland in January. His assignments have included researching the inconsistent and extensive use of suspension and expulsion as a method for disciplining Maryland’s youngest students. Use of these counterproductive forms of discipline disproportionally effect students with disabilities. Andrew wrote the written testimony submitted by The Arc Maryland in support of SB 651/HB 425 which prohibits schools from suspending or expelling children in prekindergarten through second grade except in severe circumstances and requires schools to provide interventions and supports to young children who have behavior issues. Andrew also researched the requirements in other states that an individual emergency evacuation plan be included in a student’s IEP. Based upon this research, Andrew submitted his written testimony and testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in support of HB 1061 – Education – Emergency and Evacuation Plans – Individuals with Disabilities. His current assignments include researching disclosure exceptions under the Maryland Public Information Act in preparation for a possible bill for the 2018 Session of the Maryland General Assembly.