What is SCEMA?
The Strategic Code Enforcement Management Academy (SCEMA) is an educational enterprise that organizes lecture series and a summer academy to help build the capacity of leaders engaged in the creation, administration and enforcement of municipal and state codes.
What is The Academy?
SCEMA is the premiere code enforcement conference in the country. The two-day academy is filled with collaborative workshops and networking opportunities with professionals from across the country. The academy helps cities to implement strategic code enforcement solutions that involve multiple branches of local government.
Our next academy takes place June 12-13, 2025 in Memphis, TN. Teams will also have the option to send one or more representatives to participate in a special receivership roundtable being hosted by the Vacant Property Receivership Consortium that will begin on Tuesday evening, June 10th, and to participate in a half-day SCEMA community tour and visit to the Shelby County Environmental Court on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
Who can attend SCEMA?
SCEMA accepts applications from cities across the country seeking to strengthen code enforcement operations through enhanced coordination and collaboration with a wide array of community partners. Our curriculum is designed to focus your team on the core principles and best practices of strategic code enforcement as tailored to the distinctive priorities and challenges in your city. We encourage you to bring a diverse team of representatives from local institutions, departments, agencies, and organizations to participate and work together in the Academy. Past SCEMA teams have included, among others, code enforcement leaders, attorneys, judges, elected officials, fire and police personnel, CDC directors, data experts and non-profit partners. We are happy to help you consider who might be a part of your city’s team.
What is the cost to attend SCEMA?
The registration rate for is $350 per person.
What is the deadline to register?
The deadline to submit your team’s application to SCEMA is April 30, 2025.
Are there scholarships available?
Limited scholarships are available and will be awarded based on need.
How do I apply to SCEMA?
Applications open in March. You can apply to SCEMA here. When applying, you will be required to assign a team lead, including the contact information for each team member, and a summary of what you hope to gain by coming to SCEMA. Feel free to include attachments of recent news or reports about code enforcement issues in your community.
Who should be the team leader/what are their responsibilities?
The team leader does not necessarily have to be the most senior person on the team. The team leader should be the person who is willing to work to coordinate the attendance of team members at SCEMA, on prep calls, and on follow-up calls with SCEMA faculty. The team leader is responsible for responding promptly to Academy correspondence, sharing contact information for their team, submitting the application, and distributing academy materials to their team members.
How many team members can I bring?
Over the years, we have had teams as small as 2-3 members and as big as 12. Ideally, we want your team to include members from other departments, your code attorney, and a community or nonprofit partner or two. The ideal team size has between 3-7 people.
Does this count as CLE/other credits?
In the past, SCEMA has qualified for CLE credits with the New York and Tennessee Bar Associations. We will announce if this will be offered at the next academy once applications open in the spring. If you are from another state or need professional learning credit for another organization, please contact Joe Schilling ([email protected]) or Danny Schaffzin ([email protected]).
Can I attend only part of SCEMA?
Unfortunately, this is not possible. SCEMA is an intensive learning experience and only experiencing part of the academy lessens its impact.
Who are the faculty?
SCEMA faculty are composed of a group of lawyers, community organizers, data experts, experts and researchers. A full list of SCEMA faculty and guest lecturers can be found on our Our Team page.