Terrence Wilson, J.D., is IDRA’s regional policy and community engagement director where he is working across the U.S. South to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline and ensure equitable access to education for every student. He brings experience from a number of civil rights law and policy organizations that place equity and justice at the forefront of their work. He directs IDRA’s Southern Education Equity Network (SEEN) in Texas and Georgia. He worked with Virginia education leaders, researchers and advocates to develop What Virginia’s Anti-Equity Executive Order 1 and Reports Mean for K-12 Schools and Students – A Guide for School Leaders.
He has worked across the country in organizations, such as the Advancement Project in Washington, D.C., the Brennan Center for Justice in New York, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory School of Law and the Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition to analyzing data and performing policy research, he has been actively engaged in several state legislatures, lobbying and testifying on behalf of legislation aimed at closing the school-to-prison pipeline. He also brings organizing and community engagement experience to IDRA from his work on political campaigns and with local elected officials.
Terrence was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain Scholar. He then attended the University of Georgia where he received his juris doctor and a master’s degree in public administration.
Fun Fact: I spent a month sea kayaking in Southeast Alaska and spent the night on Kuiu Island which has one of the highest density Black Bear populations in North America.
Other Writing by Terrence Wilson
Progressing Backward – IDRA SEEN State-Level Legislative 2024 Recap and 2025 Trends
School Dollars Diverted in 2023 A Scan of Private School Voucher Legislation in the U.S. South, eBook by Terrence Wilson, J.D., 2023
School Rezoning: Essential Practices to Promote Integration and Equity, in Integration and Equity 2.0: New and Reinvigorated Approaches to School Integration, American Institutes for Research. By Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Andrene Castro, Kim Bridges, &d Terrence Wilson, September 2023
Eradicating the School-to-Prison Pipeline through a Comprehensive Approach to School Equity, Arkansas Law Review, by Morgan Craven, J.D., Paula Johnson, Ph.D., & Terrence Wilson, J.D.
Media featuring Terrence Wilson
Alabama ‘parents’ rights’ bill: What would it mean for families?, Jemma Stephenson, Alabama Reflector, February 14, 2023
Unbanning History: Georgia teen organizers fight back against school censorship, Rhonda Sonnenberg, Southern Poverty Law Center, September 2, 2022 (Also ran in Georgia Law News, September 4, 2022)
Georgia House panel advances broad school voucher plan, by Jeff Amy, Atlanta CW 69, February 2, 2022
Critics say Georgia bill intended to ease school library book bans a ‘slippery slope’, Ross Williams, GPB News – PBS, January 26, 2022
Georgia Bill Would Give Schools 7 Days to Remove Material Parents Think Harmful to Minors, Ayumi Davis, Newsweek, January 25, 2022
Bill: Give Georgia parents way to quash ‘obscene’ school materials, Jeff Amy, WABE, January 25, 2022
Critics say Georgia race bill threatens financial blow to schools, Ty Tagami, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, January 21, 2022
Writings
- Long Debate on School Safety and Discipline Results in Mixed Bag Legislation, May 07, 2025
- Going Back to that Beautiful History – In Defense of African American Studies, February 23, 2024
- The Real Impact of Banning African American Studies, September 26, 2023
- School Voucher Schemes Continue to Grow in the South, August 30, 2023
- Classroom Censorship Laws Sweep Across the U.S. South, May 30, 2023
- Georgia General Assembly Considers Legislation that Would Support Students, February 26, 2023
- Black History through Music, Art, Song & Dance, February 24, 2023
- The Story that Refuses to be Silenced, February 07, 2023
- Advocacy Goals for Educational Equity in Georgia – IDRA Policy Priorities for the 2023 General Assembly Session, January 27, 2023
- Mask Mandate Legislation Makes It Harder for Local Schools to Keep Students and School Staff Safe, September 02, 2022
- Recent Campaigns for “Parents’ Bill of Rights” Designed to Marginalize Majority of Families, August 31, 2022
- Georgia Assembly Approves Classroom Censorship, April 22, 2022
- Students Speak Out Against Classroom Censorship, March 17, 2022
- The Value of a Culturally-Sustaining Home, February 20, 2022
- Fighting Classroom Censorship in Georgia, February 03, 2022
- Equitable Education Policies in the U.S. South Can Push the Country Toward Education Justice, January 30, 2022
- Priorities and Recommendations for the 2022 Georgia Legislative Session, December 14, 2021
- Georgia School Leaders Provide Counter Measures to Classroom Censorship Efforts, December 02, 2021
- Tennessee Censorship Policy Serves as Warning to Other States, September 17, 2021
- School Censorship Policies Sweep through the South, September 02, 2021
- Pandemic No Excuse for Growth of Poorly Performing Virtual Charter Schools in U.S. South, December 22, 2020
- Effective Education Reform During COVID-19 Requires Authentic Family Engagement, August 30, 2020
- Family Engagement is Key to Student Safety Amidst COVID-19 Reopening, August 26, 2020
- State Takeovers of School Districts Don’t Work, May 27, 2020
- Without Intervention, COVID-19-Induced Budgetary Shortfalls Will Fall Hardest on Marginalized Students in the South, May 22, 2020
- Students in Southern States Face Short- and Long-Term COVID-19 Challenges, April 03, 2020
- At What Cost? A Review of School Police Funding and Accountability Across the U.S. South, February 26, 2020
- Meet Terrence Wilson, J.D. – IDRA Regional Policy and Community Engagement Director, February 26, 2020
Podcasts
