Ernie Trakas: Excellence, Insight, and Care
Ernie Trakas, Senior Litigation Counsel at the Child & Parental Rights Campaign, has been offered and has accepted an appointment as Senior Counsel in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the United States Department of Education.
Being selected for this opportunity is a significant nod of approval to his long track-record of mission-oriented service and excellence in the law.
His last day with CPRC will be on September 4th. We invite you to applaud his contributions and join us in prayer for his next mission.
About Ernie
Ernie Trakas, Esq., is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer who advocates for parental and student rights at the federal district and appellate levels. He has more than three decades of experience as a trial attorney — including service as a public defender — and approximately twenty years representing K-12 public school districts and charter schools.
His practice has encompassed education law and civil and disability rights, including key federal civil rights statutes, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and related protections. He has litigated in U.S. District Courts in Missouri and Washington, D.C., and argued appeals before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Eighth and District of Columbia Circuits. He earned his law degree from George Mason University and his bachelor’s degree from Wheeling College.
His Impact at CPRC
Ernie’s expertise will reverberate in our institution for some time to come. He consistently demonstrates wise insight, clear thinking, and an entrepreneurial mindset that has assisted this firm in innumerable ways.
His contributions to the Landerer, Ramey, Batie-Smoose, and Blair cases are just a few of the many examples.
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Willey (Wyoming): In what could become the first ruling by a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to apply the Supreme Court’s landmark Mirabelli v. Bonta precedent, Ernie helped secure a critical appellate victory affirming parents’ constitutional rights against a school district’s secret social-transition policy.
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In matters such as Landerer (parental rights challenge to secret social transition of a vulnerable student with significant mental-health diagnoses in a Pennsylvania school district), Ernie helped advance claims protecting the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, care, and medical/mental-health decision-making of their children.
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In Blair v. Appomattox County School Board, CPRC secured a historic Fourth Circuit Title IX victory holding a school board accountable for deliberate indifference to severe sexual harassment and assault suffered by a girl after school personnel treated her as a boy without her parents’ knowledge. Ernie was among counsel advancing the case.
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In the Batie-Smoose litigation, Ernie has served as counsel for Coach Melissa Batie-Smoose in her federal lawsuit against the California State University system after she faced retaliation for opposing sex discrimination and advocating for the fairness, safety, and equal opportunity of female athletes.
Those who work with him cannot help but notice that his expertise in legal strategy is equally matched by a sincere care for our clients.
A Word from Leadership
General Counsel Vernadette Broyles recently shared with our team:
“Clearly, his expertise, gained through a long career in the law, has changed us all for the better… CPRC expresses happiness that he is able to apply such skills to the legal operations of our government… Please join me in expressing our best wishes to him, and please join me in prayer that his skill be put to even greater use for our nation.”
Looking Ahead
CPRC will begin an immediate search to replace this position. While Ernie’s departure is a loss for our team, it is a gain for the broader cause of civil rights and the rule of law. We are grateful for every case advanced, every client served, and every strategic insight shared.
Join Us
- Celebrate Ernie’s next chapter.
- Pray for his success and for the families and clients whose rights remain at stake.
- Support the ongoing mission and the search for the next attorney who will carry this work forward.
Your partnership fuels the litigation, advocacy, and cultural engagement that Ernie helped strengthen.
With deep gratitude,
The Child & Parental Rights Campaign
Vernadette R. Broyles, Esq. President and Chief Counsel
Protecting children. Defending parents. Securing female sports and spaces.