From Senator Dodd: Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to a bill that would allow discrimination against transgender students in our public schools. I appreciate learning your views on this important issue. I agree with your concerns and I have authored an alternative bill that would support our transgender young people in our schools. On October 6, Representative Jesse Kremer circulated LRB 2643, a bill that would prevent students who were born biologically male from entering facilities designated for biological females and vice versa. This ignores the reality for transgender young people and directly discriminates against them. Transgender students are constantly under societal pressure to conform to their pre-assigned gender identity, and are often picked on in public and at school. We should be protecting these students and ensuring that schools create a safe learning environment, not foster even more hate by using the argument of 'comfort' to support discrimination. On October 13, I joined Representative Sondy Pope to circulate LRB 3539, a bill that defines gender identity as an individual’s deeply held sense or psychological knowledge of their own gender and transgender pupil as a pupil whose gender identity is different from that traditionally associated with the pupil’s assigned sex at birth. The bill requires the state Department of Public Instruction to develop a model policy that school districts would have the option to adopt. DPI would have 180 days from the bill's enactment to craft a model policy, and school boards would have 270 days to adopt their policies. It is important that all children feel safe and supported in their learning environment. It is discouraging to see some Republicans work to increase discrimination in our schools. Thank you again for reaching out to me to share your views on this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance to you on this, or any other matter relating to state government. Sincerely, Nikiya Q. Harris Dodd State Senator 6th Senate District

We are starting this petition to prove that people support our initiative to end explicit discrimination in our class. We want Professor Johnston to follow the University Policy. It is also our goal to bring awareness to the discrimination that happens every day in the "real world" even though most employers have policies against it. Please support us! Even though this is an experiment, the discrimination is real and the grades WILL NOT be changed unless we do something to persuade our professor to change his mind. #FollowYourPolicy #Stand4Three #StudentsForEquality Below is the letter we will be presenting to our Professor on October 20th and we need as many signatures as possible. Thank you for your support! Dear Professor Johnston, On September 3, 2015, you gave our Public Management and Administration class at Arizona State University an assignment in which you explicitly used discrimination against nearly half of the class. The assignment itself was not out of the ordinary, but the rules were as listed: Special grading rules for this assignment 1. If you sit in the back row of the class, you must submit your assignment by noon on Friday (instead of Sunday at noon like the rest of the class). 2. You must show two forms of ID to turn in your assignment, white students must also bring a bill that shows your current address. 3. If you want credit for your assignment, then during class on Tuesday you must submit to having your cheek cells collected with a swab at the beginning of class. 4. Veterans (and active military personal) will receive an extra five points on the assignment. Please bring proof of service on Tuesday. 5. If you bring in sunglasses or a hat, you will receive an extra five points on the assignment. 6. The average score for male students will be adjusted to 77% of the average score for female students. 7. Students can receive 100% for this assignment if they donate $25 to support a course project later in the semester. The money is not due now, only the pledge for donating the money - if you choose this option, just write Module 3 - I promise to make a $25 donation to the course on your wiki. You do not need to do the assignment if you pledge to donate $25. For all students, this option will exempt you from all other rules except 2 and 3. For male students, the 77% reduction is not applied if you chose this option. 8. Samantha and Kevin, for helping to set up these rules, will receive a 100% base score and an extra 20% bonus for great performance. While many of us understood the point you were trying to make in giving the rules based on statistics found in the “real world”, we believe legally and morally, these rules are unjust and must be changed. There are still three of our classmates who have received 77% for doing the same amount of work. Like many people who are discriminated against by employers, there is a policy against this kind of behavior, but it is still happening anyway. This is in violation of the University’s nondiscrimination policy: “Arizona State University is committed to providing an environment free of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation for the entire university community, including all students, faculty members, staff employees, and guests. ASU expressly prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation by employees, students, contractors, or agents of the university based on any protected status: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and genetic information. "Inappropriate conduct need not rise to the level of a violation of federal or state law to constitute a violation of this policy and to warrant disciplinary action/sanctions. All individuals identified in the Applicability section of this policy are responsible for participating in and assisting with creating and maintaining an environment at ASU free from all forms of prohibited discrimination, including harassment and retaliation. All individuals identified in the Applicability section of this policy are required to cooperate with any investigation of allegations of violations of this policy. Providing false or misleading information or failure to cooperate may result in disciplinary action.” According to recent studies and news, there is very slow process in equality in the work place due to an unconscious bias, which exists and is very difficult to change. Emily Peck of the Huffington Post explains: “These days, sexism has (mostly) moved beyond the crass discrimination of the "Mad Men" years, shape-shifting into something we now call unconscious bias -- the things a lot of us believe about women without even realizing it. These attitudes are harder to combat, or even prove, but they show up again and again in the research. A lot of people, for example, believe on some level that women are less competent than men. There's also something called a "maternal bias," in which mothers who do well at their job are disliked -- and kept from advancing -- because they're believed to be terrible parents. Women hold 45 percent of entry-level jobs at the companies surveyed, and their ranks thin out as you go higher. Only 27 percent of vice presidents at those companies are women, as are 23 percent of senior vice presidents and 17 percent of C-suite execs. These figures are a very slight improvement from 2012 (see the chart below). Very slight -- that’s where that 100-year estimate comes from. “ – “At This Rate, It’ll Take 100 Years to get Gender Equality at Work: Things are Getting Better…Very, Very Slowly” by Emily Peck The difference in our class is that you are committing explicit discrimination and have challenged us as a class to do something about it. By bringing awareness and involving others, we hope you will reconsider the grades of the three classmates that are still receiving 77% for this assignment. We the undersigned are prepared to take further action if all of our classmates are not...

I've started this petition because my younger daughter will be allowed to ride the school bus for K-2 (starting next year) but my 3rd grader has aged out. The bus stops on our corner with empty seats. I have since been hearing a ton of anecdotal evidence about parents in similar situations. Let's apply some common sense to bussing!

East St. Louis teachers and support staff have been on strike since October 1st. Superintendent Culver’s priority seems to be hiring more top-level administrators rather than negotiating a fair deal with teachers and support staff who have had their pay frozen for three years. More information ---> http://ow.ly/TbT8z

Since 2009, Weymouth Public Schools have either been underfunded or barely funded, based upon the minimum Net School Spending requirement as determined by the state of MA. Since the override failure on 8/4/15, it has been reported that SouthField, which was hoped to have infused some funding into the town, would not be fully built out for another 12-14 years. In addition, the recently released Weymouth District Review Report done by Mass.gov basically states that Weymouth has great plans and structures in place but doesn't have the staff or funds to execute them. Although there is optimism for Weymouth’s fiscal future, it does not help the children and staff that are in school right NOW. Please show your support of properly funding the Weymouth Public School system NOW by signing this petition.

Vacaville's teachers and community partners are proud to stand behind John Jansen and we urge the VUSD board to appoint him to the vacant seat on October 15th!

We were shocked when our 12 year old son was suspended from his Cincinnati area Catholic school for playing a staring game with a girl in his class. Even though the other student participated and laughed throughout the game, school administrators suspended our son because they claim he ‘intimidated’ her. We feel our son has been targeted for unfair treatment because other students in the school have behaved inappropriately, but were not punished. In addition to making him feel like a criminal for playing a game, this suspension is on our son's permanent academic record, making it difficult for him to get into other private schools or even a college. We work hard to raise our children right, sending them to private school, involving them in activities and helping with their homework. Our children deserve better than this. We are working to clear our son's record with support from you and the 'Let Kids Be Kids' campaign from Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children (FFLIC).

As parents of Cornell students, we are disappointed and concerned not only about the loss of the Point Bonita field trip but also about the exclusion of Cornell parents from the discussion. We have an amazing amount of commitment and resources within our parent community, and we believe that if we work together, we can find a solution.

The student loan interest rate is giving many Texas college graduates a struggling start to their post-graduate life. The fight to lower the Student Loan Interest Rate is an on-going battle that is affecting many recent college graduates as well as going to affect current students and young adults who desire to pursue a college education. This petition is to demonstrate the desire to lower the student loan interest rates. By lowering the student loan interest rate it show to many prospective students that the Texas Legislatures believes in their future success from furthering their education as well as receiving a post-graduate lifestyle that won't leave them struggling to meet their basic necessities.

My children are both in elementary school, and are both very different learners with varying strong points. Holding a child back a grade because the child is not proficient in one subject is not the answer. While I am supportive of a researched based reading intervention policy that increases student literacy, the proposed bill is overly prescriptive and includes many implementation problems. Vote NO on House Bill 4822!

The school year has begun and without the security and confidence of knowing that Ms. Jackman is in place at IS 285 to secure safety and ensure academic enrichment is disheartening to students and worrisome to parents. We have developed relationships and planted seeds and roots with Sports and Arts based on Ms. Jackman. IS 285 is undergoing a lot of transition and our school community has been put through tremendous changes. However, Erica Jackman through the upheaval was able to give the students and parents stability, peace of mind and a greater expectation for the future. The shock of her absence has sent the IS 285 community into yet another spiral. If children and families is the focus, what are you really doing to improve our community? Bring Ms. Jackman back. IS 285 past, present and future needs her.

We can fix this. It doesn't even require an act of Congress. The Department of Education can declare a moratorium on garnishing Social Security benefits for student debt. We can make this happen—and bring relief to the many Social Security recipients still struggling to repay their student loans. Sponsored by: Student Debt Crisis AFL-CIO AFT AFSCME Alliance for Retired Americans Campaign for America's Future Center for Global Policy Solutions Common Cause Courage Campaign CREDO Daily Kos Democracy for America Demos Justice in Aging People For the American Way Project Springboard RootsAction Social Security Works The Nation The Other 98% The Zero Hour