For the past 15 years, Parents for Public Schools has been lobbying our elected officials to make fair school funding a priority. With an ever decreasing tax base and an increase in the number of children living in poverty in Syracuse, the impact of funding inequity has reached crisis proportions. The Syracuse City School District is dependent on the state for the majority of the school funding and the residents do not vote for a school budget. It’s time to take the politics out of funding education and make sure all schools receive the resources their students need.

The current state of New York’s 2015 executive budget reinforces doubt about the state legislature’s dedication to keeping New York’s state colleges accessible and properly funded. Student activist groups, such as New York Students Rising and Democracy Matters, as well as teacher’s unions, have been calling on the state legislature to make good on their promises about higher education. At 1.2 trillion dollars and growing, the youngest generation of this country holds more debt than any other group in history. This is unacceptable and it is the responsibility of our state government to begin addressing the situation.

On March 17, the House unveiled a new plan which slashes billions of dollars from the program that does the most to help hungry kids, and we need to push back. For decades, Republicans and Democrats have come together to support these programs, but thanks to repeated cuts, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) currently only provides $1.38 per meal, barely enough to buy a pack of gum. SNAP benefits are currently around $125 per person, per month -- which works out to about $1.38 per meal. It might seem like a small benefit -- and to be sure, SNAP benefits are the lowest they’ve been in five years -- but to those struggling to put food on the table, it makes a critical difference. Together we can make sure America's kids are getting enough to eat and have a fair shot at a better life. We need to let Rep. Coffman knows that we expect better than a budget which leaves kids hungry.

On March 17, the House unveiled a new budget plan which slashes billions of dollars from the program that does the most to help hungry kids, and we need to push back. For decades, Republicans and Democrats have come together to support these programs, but thanks to repeated cuts, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) currently only provides $1.38 per meal, barely enough to buy a pack of gum. The truth is, when kids are hungry they struggle to learn. Ending childhood hunger is not only the right thing to do, it’s a smart investment in our future. SNAP benefits are currently around $125 per person, per month -- which works out to about $1.38 per meal. It might seem like a small benefit -- and to be sure, SNAP benefits are the lowest they’ve been in five years -- but to those struggling to put food on the table, it makes a critical difference. Together we can make sure America's kids are getting enough to eat and have a fair shot at a better life. We need to let Rep. Roskam knows that we expect better than a budget which leaves kids hungry.

Teachers, counselors, and health and human service professionals at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools (Alliance) announced on March 13, 2015 that in order to achieve the highest quality learning environment for their students and working environment for themselves they are organizing a union at their schools. With 550 teachers, counselors, and health and human service professionals, Alliance serves 11,000 students at 26 schools and is the largest charter operator authorized by the Los Angeles Unified School District. Educators at Alliance have decided to form a union to achieve an effective voice in the decision making process and ensure student-focused, teacher-led collaboration. They are calling on the Alliance to respect their collective decision, to not exercise influence or interference, and to come to an agreement with them for a fair and neutral process to organize their union.

Starting school early presents several dangers, including impaired children's health, poor academic performance, and loss of physical safety. The safety and education of our young people should be top priorities. Pushing the start times for all public schools in the Great State of Florida to 8am at the earliest would ensure better health, improved academic performance, and significantly less danger to all children in the public school system.

Last week, Republicans unveiled budgets in the House and Senate that are devastating to American families. The cuts to student aid programs are especially vicious, with a proposed $150 billion in cuts to the Pell Grant, subsidized loan program, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and income-based repayment. This is easily the biggest attack on student aid in the 21st century. The US Student Association believes that public higher education should be free! And this budget is clearly headed in the opposite direction. We need individual members of Congressional leadership to reject the drastic cuts to student aid included in this year's budget. Sign here to send an email to Senate Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Reid, House Speaker Boehner, and Minority Leader Pelosi.

Bernie Sanders was born in Brooklyn and benefited from the public school system. Today, public college tuition rises each year, students struggle to pay their debt, and after graduation struggle to obtain jobs. We are asking Bernie Sanders for solutions to revive the public education system in this country and how we the students can shape the future.

Parent Eric Neiwert's call to action on Facebook: Oregon parents and other interested parties. I need you to make your voices heard. This past week the Oregon legislature announced a K12 budget that is $600 Million short of what is recommended by educators statewide. What is clear is that this budget will result in cuts to school districts across the state. In my children's district, Gresham-Barlow School District, this will result in a $5 million cut. This means either a 10 day reduction in each of the next two years or 45 additional staff will be cut. This is after sustaining cuts over six years leaving us with bare bones programs that shortchange our students.

We need a loud and collective voice to make sure our concerns are heard. We are tired of having inadequate funding for our schools and want to ensure that they are receiving the best education they can.

As a senior in high school I'm now realizing how expensive college is going to be. Students and parents would benefit from this tremendously.

We the undersigned educators, parents, and concerned citizens recognize the need to educate the whole child. We believe that children are individuals, and that differentiated instruction should occur to meet the needs of students. Valuable instructional time is being lost in order to teach to the tests. Weeks of direct instruction are being lost to prepare and administer the PARCC assessments. Many educators feel that these tests are two full grade levels above students comprehension levels. Moreover, there were no wide scale public hearings held to allow for educator input. Have we learned nothing from the failed mandates of No Child Left Behind? We must stop the reliance of high standards tests as indicators of students future success. We must stop toxic testing!