David Hinojosa

Director of Educational Opportunities Project

David Hinojosa is the Director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights where he spearheads the organization’s systemic work in guaranteeing that all students receive equal educational opportunities in public schools and institutions of higher education. David is recognized as a national leading litigator and advocate in the area of civil rights, specializing in educational impact litigation and policy.

Previously, David served over eleven years as an attorney and Southwest Regional Counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). Mr. Hinojosa’s cutting-edge litigation, appellate practice and policy work in several states resulted in: racially desegregating schools; improving state school finance systems for underserved children and property-poor districts; cultivating quality programs for English learners; preserving the Texas DREAM Act and affirmative action; stopping workplace discrimination; and securing driver’s license access for immigrants. He has argued impact cases before the Supreme Courts of Colorado and Texas and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, among other appellate courts.

For over three years, David served as the Intercultural Development and Research Association’s (IDRA) National Director of Policy and Director of the Region II regional equity assistance center, where he and his team provided equity-based technical assistance to schools across the American South in issues involving race, national origin, sex/gender, and religion discrimination. David also led the development of critical tools for the field, including the popular “Essential Building Blocks of School Finance” and “Equity-Based Framework for Integrated Schooling.” David has presented written and oral testimony before local, state and national governmental bodies, and he has spoken at over 100 local, state and national conferences. He is also well-published on civil rights matters, including “Rodriguez v. San Antonio Independent School District, Forty Years and Counting” in The Enduring Legal of Rodriguez (Harvard Education Press 2015); and “How Adequacy Litigation Fails to Fulfill the Promise of Brown [But How it Can Get us Closer],” in The Pursuit of Racial and Ethnic Equality in American Public Schools: Mendez, Brown, and Beyond (Michigan State University Press 2015)).

Prior to joining the Lawyers’ Committee in November 2019, David worked in the Albuquerque office of the well-regarded education law firm of Walsh Gallegos, P.C., where he represented school districts in various legal matters, including civil rights, employment, and student matters. A proud graduate of Edgewood High School in San Antonio, David served as an air traffic controller in the U.S. Air Force. He earned his B.A. from New Mexico State University in 1997 and his J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 2000. He is licensed to practice in the states of Texas and New Mexico, the Fifth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

Panel Information

Wednesday, February 17

2:05 PM EST

Education in the Time of COVID-19

COVID 19 has had a debilitating impact on our students’ education, further widening the achievement gaps between students of color and their counterparts. In this session, we will discuss the action we need from the Biden administration and our Congressional leaders to immediately address these gaps.