Americans owe over $1.3 trillion in student debt. Eighty-six percent of that money is owed to the United States government. This is a crushing burden for more than 40 million Americans and their families. It's time for immediate action to relieve them of this burden -- by forgiving all government-held debt, and purchasing the rest so that it can be forgiven, too. Be a Student Debt Voter, and join the fight for the Student Debt Jubilee.

While we understand that the BYOD policy is helpful during our budget cuts and allows CCPS to spend less money on technology, there are a number of problems with the BYOD policy for Carroll County Elementary Schools: A few of the problems, but not limited to this list are... 1. SOCIAL INTERACTION: Students are playing individual video games on their devices during indoor recess instead of socially interacting with other students. (1) A study out of UCLA proved that kids who were deprived of screens for five days got much better at reading people’s emotions than kids who continued their normal screen-filled lives. 2. BRING YOUR OWN DISTRACTION: When the device belongs to the student, it can be loaded with plenty of games, social networking apps, inappropriate content, and who knows what else. Students are playing these games and looking at these apps before the school bell, during lunch, during free time and at recess. The possibilities for this sort of distracting content and software are undoubtedly increased in an open BYOD scenario. If a student is limited to having the device out only when doing class work, they will likely not be accessing these apps, games, and content during the day and other students will be less likely exposed to this content as well. 3. INTERNET CONTENT FILTERING: This is a necessary fact of tech life in most schools – Internet content must be filtered. When kids are bringing their own tech to school, it makes it increasingly harder to manage, and this is only becoming more problematic thanks to the increasing proliferation of 3G and 4G wireless personal devices. An open and very unlimited BYOD program would only add to these complications, and make it that much harder for a technology department to ensure compliance with content filtering objectives and the protection of students from inappropriate content while in school. 4. The HAVE and HAVE NOT Syndrome: School life is challenging enough for some elementary school children (and their parents) without the additional pressure of having to deal with not having a device. The less fortunate kids should not have to face this every day. We do our best to not expose them when it comes to free and reduced lunches, but now we are pointing them out. 5. SCREEN TIME LIMITS: Many families are trying to limit screen times at home because there are many studies that prove too much screen time is unhealthy for your brain, your eyes, your mental health and your physical health. (2) According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids ages 8-18 now spend, on average, a whopping 7.5 hours in front of a screen for entertainment each day. We don't need to add to this time by playing on devices at school. 6. CHILDHOOD OBESITY: As pointed out above, the average child spends 7.5 hours in front of a screen. That is more than any other activity except for sleeping. (3) Too much time parked in front of the television or computer screen is driving the epidemic of childhood obesity in the U.S., according to a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Students need to be encouraged to put the devices down and move. Our very unlimited BYOD policies do not promote physical activity. We need to be the voice for our children and limit the BYOD policy for their health, safety, and well being. ------------------------------------------- (1) Five days at outdoor education camp without screens improves preteen skills with nonverbal emotion cues Yalda T. Uhlsa, , , Minas Michikyanb, Jordan Morrisc, Debra Garciad, b, Gary W. Smalle, Eleni Zgourouf, Patricia M. Greenfielda (2) Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds is the third in a series of large-scale, nationally representative surveys by the Foundation about young people’s media use. The report is based on a survey conducted between October 2008 and May 2009 among a nationally representative sample of 2,002 3rd-12th grade students ages 8-18, including a self-selected subsample of 702 respondents who completed seven-day media use diaries, which were used to calculate multitasking proportions. (3) Strasburger VC, et al "Policy statement -- Children, adolescents, obesity, and the media" Pediatrics 2011; 128: 201–208.

As a Miami-Dade College student I speak on the behalf of MDC and our desire for a break during the Spring semester.

Dear Arlington Residents, We need to expand language opportunities in APS to serve a critical number of francophone residents. Bilingualism increases mental flexibility for children and allows them to perform better in math, problem-solving and logic skills. It helps them to build self-esteem, creativity, and get a head start in competition for universities and jobs. Right now, families have to leave Arlington to McLean and MD for French immersion Programs.

I am a parent of a school-aged child. I want my daughter, and all children, to enjoy their years in school, instead of dreading the reforms that are bankrolled by billionaires who are just salivating over their plan to privatize public education, just to make a savage profit off of our children

With the start of our Kindness Initiative, Nardin Academy should have a Gay-Straight Alliance to provide a safer and more welcoming place for our LGBT+ students. As a pansexual student, I received a tremendous amount of backlash and discomfort surrounding my romantic/sexual orientation. Unfortunately, I know a multitude of other students who have experienced similar things. By starting a GSA, I hope to provide education and more acceptance among other students, and a safe-space for LGBT students.

I am staring this petition because I believe that many students like me were never informed about their religious rights in school. Also becuase many students and staff have a religious practice that they would like to do before an important event that they don't know they can do.

I began working as an educator in Hawaii in 1995: first as a substitute teacher at Pope Elementary School, then for summer school, then full-time subbing for the Windward District. During my many years as a tenured teacher, my concern over the quality of public education has escalated to the point of panic and despair. This is over the corporate mandates I must adhere to in order to keep my job. We have lost student access to school libraries during the day due to school librarian positions being cut. Testing has become the focus and workplace bullying the norm. Lying, cheating, and harassment by administrators is the norm. This needs to stop. How? More transparency and accountability is needed from the decision-makers in the Hawaii Department of Education. The Board of Education oversees the public school system and state library system. All Hawaii voters deserve access to meetings which take place during the work day on Oahu and to witness for themselves what is being decided regarding Hawaii's children. Join the Facebook group BOE Watch. Hawaii residents, just click the "join group" button to add your name.

My son is enrolled in Reno County Parents as Teachers. Rep. Peggy Mast suggested cutting the program statewide to offset the state's deficit. I think this is a bad idea. Parents as Teachers helps families prepare their children for school and identify any barriers the child may be facing, such as health or developmental disorders, and develop strategies to deal with them.

Common Core is stripping our students and teachers of their creativity and individuality. This is not an appropriate way to educate any child and the teachers become data collectors.

Dear Provost Dai: I am a graduating senior majoring in African American Studies, and I support the right of my professors—including adjunct faculty—to vote to form a union. I urge you to allow the approximately 1,300 adjunct faculty at Temple University to proceed with a fair and timely election by dropping the legal challenges Temple has brought before the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. Temple’s adjunct faculty should be able to exercise their right to make a choice about unionization. I urge you to let them vote. Every student who has attended Temple has been taught by at least one adjunct faculty member. After all, adjuncts make up half of the faculty at Temple. They are a valuable part of our university community. Their commitment to our education is compensated with low pay, few benefits and no assurances that they will be able to teach future classes beyond the current semester. This is unfair not only to faculty but to students as well. For example, a professor I make a connection with one semester may not be around the next semester, in spite of excellent teaching and student support. I believe that adjunct faculty, like all workers, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect by the Temple administration, and I strongly support their organizing to form a collective bargaining unit with the union they have chosen, the Temple Association of University Professionals. I call on you to allow Temple’s adjunct faculty to hold a fair and transparent election, and I demand that you not use any tuition funds or other resources to hinder their efforts. Sincerely, Sarah Giskin, African American Studies Temple University

Mayor Emanuel, seeking the endorsement of Chicago labor unions, told them that he supported the unionization of hundreds of educators at charter schools in 2013. Today, more than one hundred courageous educators at the Urban Prep and North Lawndale College Prep charter school networks are standing up to be heard, to advocate for the needs of their schools and their students, and to be treated fairly. They seek to join Chicago ACTS Local 4343, which already represents 800 members working at 29 schools covered by union contracts. Along with Chicago ACTS Local 4343, these educators are calling for commitments from their schools’ executives not to interfere with the staff’s right to organize, and to accept the decision of the majority of over 200 teachers and staff at these schools. And we are asking Mayor Emanuel to stand with us. These educators are dedicated to the mission of their schools and seek to build a climate of mutual respect and cooperation in order to better serve and support their students’ growth. In order to reduce staff turnover and provide students with greater consistency, they seek to ensure fair and equal treatment of all employees. These educators risked retribution for organizing. It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against employees for participating in union organizing. However, charter school managers have campaigned to discourage their staff members from unionizing. The leaders of this effort call on their schools’ executives to demonstrate their respect and trust in their employees by pledging not to interfere with their right to organize, and by accepting the decision of the majority of teachers and staff. Along with ChiACTS, they also call on public officials who oversee Chicago’s schools, starting with the Mayor, to endorse the same respect and fairness for any and all educators who seek to unionize in charter schools. We are asking Mayor Emanuel to call on the executives of these and all charter schools to commit to a fair process that ensures the right of educators to organize free from fear. Please join us.