The citizens of Louisiana are tired of the cuts to higher education funding. Governor Bobby Jindal recently proposed a $608 million reduction in higher education funding in Louisiana. That amounts to roughly 80 percent of the operating budget of the University of Louisiana System. These cuts to higher education funding in Louisiana are a shameful attempt to temporarily the larger budget problems in Louisiana. The middle class will have to take up the slack so Jindal can avoid tax cuts and major budget overhauls while he attempts a presidential bid. Legislators: Do not stand by and let higher education be set back a generation! That’s what we are looking at here. It is not up to the governor; it is up to you! Step up for a change. Commit to RESTORING funds to higher ed; NOT taking more from them and setting them back for another twenty years. All of you out there that feel this way: Send this to your representative and senator, call your representative and senator, pledge to vote them out if they continue to significantly harm higher education. For further reading, check out: http://louisianavoice.com/2012/05/31/louisiana-is-following-trend-of-taking-state-out-of-state-colleges-in-slow-move-to-privatization-of-higher-education/ http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/education/k-12/2014/09/15/louisiana-ranks-poorly-national-education-assessment/15694709/ http://www.nola.com/news/baton-rouge/index.ssf/2015/04/lsu_scaling_back_faculty_hires.html#incart_most-read_education_article http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/04/lsu_academic_bankruptcy.html#incart_story_package http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/how-bobby-jindal-wrecked-louisiana/

I am a student at Louisiana State University Eunice, and I see firsthand the struggles of all college students around the state. Tuition will go up and some majors are being dropped. Everyone deserves a chance at a college degree. With these proposed cuts, Gov. Jindal is basically saying that he does not care about colleges in Louisiana. Show him that we care. Sign this petition and show your support for higher education in Louisiana.

I am tired of hearing about Governor Bobby Jindal slashing the budgets of what really matters, like Education and Health Care, for the state of Louisiana. I am tired of his traveling across the US to promote himself as the next President of the United States prospect. I want to tell our sad excuse of a Governor that we demand better for not just our kids, but also for the state of Louisiana as a whole. Education will bring back the state from the brink of whatever cliff he's trying to run us all over. Education is the background to success. And Louisiana as a whole needs a little more success and a lot less chopping away at the Educational system.

A college education is still the primary pathway to the middle class, yet the average college graduate leaves school with nearly $30,000 in debt. And for students who don’t graduate, even small amounts of debt can be insurmountable. It wasn’t always this way. Just 25 years ago, if a student wanted to attain a bachelor’s degree, it was more likely than not that he or she would be able to do so without borrowing money to pay for it. Now, due to disinvestment in education, borrowing is nearly always required to pay for a four-year degree, particularly for low- and middle-income students. Reversing this trend will require the federal government and states to work together to make college more affordable and return it to the debt-free promise it once was. A federal-state partnership, like the one proposed in the new resolution, would alleviate the student debt burden and address many of the contributing factors of rising college costs.

For almost 14 years, Philadelphians have been unable to elect their own school board, thanks to efforts of corporate backed education privatizers. It's time for the voters of Philadelphia to be able to vote for our own school board. Join me in calling on Gov. Wolf to return local control to Philadelphians now.

HB 525, The Cleveland Plan, enables the CMSD CEO to create a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) for the lowest performing schools in the District, known as Corrective Action Schools. In 2013 and 2014, the Cleveland Municipal School District Board of Education adopted the CAPs for these buildings. Corrective Action School teachers and paraprofessionals had to re-interview, be selected, and sign a Commitment Letter in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the plan. In year three, with little collaboration or notice, the District presented new plans that de-professionalize the staff and do little to address student success. As teachers and paraprofessionals have been following the plan for the past year or two, positive changes can be seen. Instead of starting over, the District needs to stand behind and support their original commitment letters.

Huge news: Senator Bernie Sanders just introduced legislation to make public colleges tuition-free. This is after Senators Elizabeth Warren and Charles Schumer, Congressional Progressive Caucus leaders, and others introduced a congressional resolution saying students should be able to graduate from public colleges and universities without debt. This is part of a big push to make debt-free college a central issue in 2016. Show presidential candidates and others in Congress that you want momentum on this issue. Sign on as a citizen cosponsor of the debt-free college resolution.

Since 2000, when adjusted for inflation, state funding for Illinois public universities has been cut by over 35%. As a result, average tuition and fees for entering freshman in Fall 2014 was the 5th highest in the country and the highest in the Midwest. Seventy percent of graduating seniors in Illinois have student debt that averages over $28,000. Gov. Rauner’s budget would increase tuition by over 50%, gut programs, and lay-off staff and faculty critical to providing quality education at all Illinois public universities. Public higher education is an economic engine for the state of Illinois. Not only does a college degree result in higher earning potential for our students and graduates, but an educated workforce is crucial to improving productivity, ingenuity, and scientific, technological, and entrepreneurial innovation. Education is what drives our economy, and it must be funded.

I am a victim of this for-profit fraudulent business that operates its scam in the name of education. The only thing that I gained from this experience is worse financial despair than I have ever had in my entire life! They destroyed millions of lives! Please help put an end to these predatory businesses operating under the name of education!

I am a victim and a former student of Everest University. The college misled and deceived numerous students, some of whom were low-income, veterans or single parents. The colleges also increased their tuition three times a year. Students were misled that they would be able to obtain employment in their fields, but they were deceived. There were loans taken out in their names, which none of them authorized.

Legislators will need to act now and support AB 1112 to save our parent education and family English literacy programs. Parenting and Family English Literacy classes that helped thousands of parents learn to raise their children better and get basic English skills will be closed as school districts implement AB 86, which will end their funding. AB 1112 will address this concern by including Parenting and Family English Literacy programs within the narrowed focus of the adult and continuing education programs that will receive dedicated funding through AB 86. The Local Control Funding Formula [LCFF] can not provide a reliable source of funding to keep these programs operating, so the Parent education and Family Literacy classes will disappear next year unless legislators act now to enact AB 1112 or similar legislation to protect these valuable and effective programs.

My daughter has two advanced degrees from prestigious universities, many other skills, but is still under-employed. She has so much debt that she must lived at home for now. (She’d love a good full-time job that would pay for living expenses and health insurance. We are paying for the health insurance at this time – which she found through the marketplace.) It is worth it in so many ways, including economically, to invest in our future, by having the government forgive educational debt at this time.