Aarti Sidhu co-teaches the Youth, Education, and Justice Legal Theory and Practice Clinic. She is passionate about keeping children in school, promoting educational equity for all students, and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.
Aarti was a Staff Attorney at Disability Rights Maryland (DRM). At DRM, she provided legal representation to students with disabilities and advocated for appropriate educational programming and related services for youth. Aarti served as the Co-Chair of the Maryland Coalition to Reform School Discipline (CRSD). Maryland CRSD is committed to making school discipline practices in Maryland schools fair, appropriate, equitable, and designed to keep youth in school and on track to graduate.
Prior to joining DRM, Aarti was an Open Society Institute-Baltimore Community Fellow. Her project as an OSI Fellow, Represent Youth: Baltimore School Justice Initiative, provided legal representation to Baltimore City school children in suspension and expulsion proceedings, empowered youth and families by educating them about their rights in schools, and advocated for policy reform to decrease the use of exclusionary discipline.
Aarti is a graduate of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and received her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Psychology from George Washington University. She received the 2021 Generation J.D. award from The Daily Record for her outstanding dedication to the community. Aarti is a proud daughter of immigrants, wife, and mother of two.