Sara Godchaux teaches Ethical and Legal Issues in Education Leadership in the SPA-NOLA program. Sara is an education attorney with the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Stuart H. Smith Law Clinic, located in New Orleans, LA, where she provides free representation for students and families on school discipline and special education matters. She also works on issues of systemic reform in the areas of public education and juvenile justice through strategic impact litigation and policy advocacy on the local and state levels. At the Loyola Law Clinic, Sara also co-teaches the Youth Justice Clinic and supervises 3L law student practitioner work on education cases. Prior to joining the Loyola Law Clinic, Sara worked as a civil rights attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in New Orleans for four and half years, primarily focusing on children’s education and access to mental health care issues. At SPLC, Sara also worked on behalf of Louisiana’s immigrant community and filed litigation to protect the voting rights of naturalized U.S. citizens.
Sara is a native New Orleanian and a graduate of Vanderbilt University (B.A. Political Science and French, magna cum laude) and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law (J.D., summa cum laude), where she graduated top of her class and received the Spirit of Ignatius Award for her demonstrated commitment to community service and high academic achievement.