The Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet or the Law Magnet, formerly the School of Government, Law, & Law Enforcement, is a magnet secondary school located in Dallas, Texas, United States. It is a part of the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center and is within the Dallas Independent School District. It gives students the opportunity to explore careers in law, law enforcement, and government. The school has three sections, Criminal Justice, Pre-Law and Government. Students have the option to enroll in either one. It provides students with a range of experiential learning activities, including project-based learning in the classroom and courtroom observations, as well as meaningful internships that allow students to experience the practice of law and law enforcement in a variety of settings. The school was renamed in honor of Judge Barefoot Sanders in 2010.
History
In the spring of 2007, Robert L. Giesler, the longest serving principal of the Law Magnet, announced that he was retiring. While the school board tried to find a permanent principal, Lucy Livingston, served as the intern dean at the school. In March 2008, Mr. Anthony Palagonia, was appointed as the Law Magnet Principal. Mr. Palagonia had been Assistant Principal at Richardson High School and had been associated with the Richardson Law Magnet in various capacities for 20 years. In addition to bringing his experience in magnet schools, Mr. Palagonia brings his experience as a former practicing attorney and city court judge. He left in 2014, and there was a sub-principal for 2014-2015. In 2015, Mr. Dang became the permanent principal. At the conclusion of the 2015-2016, Garet Feimster was hired as the new principal of the school. Although the Law Magnet does not offer competitive sports,, the school has a wide selection of competitive academic organizations. These include, but are not limited to: SkillsUSA, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Policy Debate, Mock Trial, Close Up Foundation, TAFE, One Act Play and Destination ImagiNation. In 2016, the debate team won the Texas Forensic Association State Championship in policy debate. On March 3, 2018, the Mock Trial team won 3rd place in the Texas High School Mock Trial competition. Notable alumni have attended respectable institutions of higher education such as: Harvard University, Columbia University, Brown, Stanford, UPenn, The University of Texas, MIT, Georgetown, Smith, University of Chicago, Notre Dame, Wellesley, SMU, Texas A&M, University of Texas at San Antonio, Yale, Cornell. Several alumni of the school have gone on to become lawyers and federal law enforcement professionals. One alumnus, George Rodriguez, recently ran for U.S. Congress. The school has recently established a foundation known as the Friends of Dallas Law Magnet High School. Its purpose is to raise funds to support existing programs and fund other opportunities for Law Magnet students. In 2012, it was ranked 5th out of the top 10 high schools in North Texas by Children at Risk, a research and advocacy institute dedicated to helping children. In 2018, it was ranked as 5th out of all high schools in the Dallas Independent School District and 38th in Texas by US News and World Report.
