Leah Matheson
Leah is a student deeply passionate about law, civic engagement, and global policy. She enjoys contributing to initiatives that promote sustainability, raise awareness, and amplify youth voices. Her interest in joining NYRA stems from her strong admiration for the organization’s focus on empowering young people. Through this opportunity, she hopes to drive positive change in her community and beyond.
Leah joined NYRA in December 2025 and currently works on the Research Team.
Web pages by Leah:
Leah Was the Primary Author of the following webpages:
A detailed look at student privacy violations, student privacy policies in schools, and every state with parental notification laws that force schools to inform parents of students’ gender identity.
Published: 3/03/26
Businesses are often responsible for discrimination against young people. For example, store bans are common. Across America, over 1,000 malls and shopping centers have banned young people in some capacity.
Published: 3/04/26
Note: This page was originally published in September 2020, but was completely rewritten by Leah
Young people should have the right to be outside, move freely, use public transportation, leave their parents’ home, and drive without unreasonable restrictions
Published: 3/11/26
Phone bans in school from a youth rights perspective. State laws and lockable phone pouch policies. Negative impacts of Phone bans in schools on students.
Published: 3/18/26
Leah provided major content contributions for the following webpages:
Learn about Juvenile Justice from a youth rights perspective. What rights do juveniles not have compared to adults? What are the flaws and abuses of the juvenile justice system?
Published: 2/25/26
Learn about status offenses from a youth rights perspective. What crimes can you only be charged with as a juvenile in each state in the US?
Published: 2/25/26
Learn more about the minimum driving age in each state, and the restrictions on minors’ drivers licenses for each state. | Why Youth should have driving rights.
Updated 3/08/26 (originally published in August 2020)
Leah provided editing and research assistance for the following webpages:
