Why is Governor Corbett prioritizing playing politics with our kids Under Governor Corbett, Pennsylvania's children have been hit by $1 billion in cuts to our schools and the loss of 20,000 laid-off educators and school staff. At the same time the Governor is pushing through corporate tax breaks that perpetuate the underfunding of education. This Governor’s radical agenda of mass school closings, mass firings, mass privatization and mass budget cuts is destroying our public schools, destabilizing communities, and hurting our children. For the children of Pennsylvania Governor Corbett's agenda means: • losing art, music, physical education, libraries and the rich learning environment our kids need • gutting sports and extracurricular activities • fewer social workers, school nurses, counselors, paraprofessionals and teachers and more crowded classrooms with less one-on-one time with kids • cancelled after-school programs that keep kids safe and engaged • losing services that address the social, emotional and health needs of our children • fewer quality neighborhood schools that anchor our communities This petition has been started by two young women: Deionni Martinez, a 9th grader, from Philadelphia and Jamaka Scott, a recent high school graduate, from Pittsburgh. At Kensington School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) in Philadelphia, Deionni is worried about how these cuts will impact her dreams of a future in the performing arts. Deionni practices her clarinet 90 minutes a day and immerses herself in the arts programs at her school. But what will happen when her teachers and the arts programs she loves get cut? "Students talk about the cuts all the time...and everybody is saying the same things. That they stay in school because the arts gives them something to look forward to. It is a reason to stay in school, to get through math class, because here we get to do something that makes it worthwhile. But if they cut out the programs that get us through the day, many students will just leave...they'll be gone." Jamaka just graduated from Pittsburgh Creative And Performing Arts School and knows how destabilizing these budget cuts are to students. In recent years, cuts to the music and the arts program at her school eliminated a mentor and music coach she had practiced with since 5th grade. “These cuts are bad for students because they take away the people we felt most comfortable with. It’s hard for students to do their best when your teacher changes all the time. We need more funding for our schools. Students shouldn’t be denied a good education because politicians cannot stand up for more funding.” We can't afford to turn our backs on Deionni, Jamaka or any of Pennsylvania's children. It's time for Governor Corbett and the state to prioritize children over prisons and corporate tax breaks.

We support giving the voters the right to vote on a school facilities bond this November 2013

At a time when the City University of New York (CUNY) pays an adjunct faculty member carrying a full course load as little as $25,000 per year, the university has offered former CIA Director David Petraeus $150,000 to teach a seminar next year. That is just 15-20 students. These funds surely could be better spent – to help students who cannot afford to pay the 30% tuition increase that CUNY has been implementing over five years. And it is outrageous to spend so much on one class, when some CUNY classes are so over-subscribed that students sit on windowsills and radiators because all the seats are full. CUNY has been underfunded for decades – a sad sign of our under-commitment to higher education. That means the CUNY administration needs to make every dollar count toward educating the young people of New York. CUNY’s mission is to provide a college education to the “children of the whole people,” and these expenditures of funds are an insult to the people of New York, especially those most connected to CUNY, and that mission.

I teach at City College of San Francisco, the best school I've ever taught at. The ACCJC, the accreditation commission, has fatally and unjustly revoked our college's accreditation (to take effect in July, 2014) for reasons that are politically and ideologically motivated. This outrageous attack on City College of San Francisco - one of the largest and best in the country - is an attack on all public education.

Arne Duncan says that the problem in the US Education System is that teachers come from the bottom 2/3 of the graduating classes. Legislatures all over the country propose basing teacher pay on student test scores while ignoring the research regarding family background. How much more bashing are we willing to take?? MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!!!

Student loan debt buries 37 million people in the United States and now exceeds $1 trillion. On average, students borrow $26,000 to pay for an education which is either free or of minimal cost in most advanced countries. Money going to repay banks and federal loan agencies could instead be going back into the economy. Higher education is increasingly treated as an individual commodity, rather than a public good or an investment in our collective future. As a result, millions are putting off major purchases and life decisions – especially graduates of color, who have disproportionately higher debt. This has crushing ripple effect on our economy: students and recent graduates are forced into low-wage jobs in order to immediately start making payments back to banks and lenders; instead of stimulating the economy by spending millions of dollars, many are pinching pennies to just try to keep up with the interest on their loans. Meanwhile, total public and private tuition costs are $170 billion per year – one fifth of what we spend on the military per year. We can afford to do better. This is NOT only a "young person's problem." Most of the student loan debt is owed by people older than 30, and they are forced to put dreams of a house, a family, a future, on hold. We can make student loan repayment simple and fair and provide a lifeline for student borrowers who have fallen on difficult times.

Nobody is more dedicated to making Kaplan a better place than Kaplan teachers. But Kaplan does not value its teachers. Instead of negotiating a fair contract that includes sick days, decent pay for prep time and health care, Kaplan representatives walked out of the last bargaining session shortly after it started.

Senator McConnell voted against students by voting "NO" to a bill that would have stopped student loan interest rates from doubling, on July 1st, and he voted "YES" on a bill that would see interest rates skyrocket. In the Senator's home state of Kentucky alone, 60% of students from have student debt upon completion from college; the average student loan debt is $22,270; and 123,382 students in Kentucky are Stafford Loan borrowers. Going to college shouldn't mean a lifetime of paying off crushing loans, and students in South Carolina (and the rest of America) can't afford more debt!

Senator Graham voted against students by voting "NO" to a bill that would have stopped student loan interest rates from doubling, on July 1st, and he voted "YES" on a bill that would see interest rates skyrocket. Now, on July 10th, the Senate is planning to vote on The Keep Student Loans Affordable Act, which would cut our current student loan interest rates in half -- from 6.8% to 3.4 % -- for a year. In the Senator's home state of South Carolina alone, 54% of students from have student debt upon completion from college; the average student loan debt is $25,140; and 111,601 students in South Carolina are Stafford Loan borrowers. Going to college shouldn't mean a lifetime of paying off crushing loans, and students in South Carolina (and the rest of America) can't afford more debt!

Senator Cochran voted against students by voting "NO" to a bill that would have stopped student loan interest rates from doubling, on July 1st, and he voted "YES" on a bill that would see interest rates skyrocket. Now, on July 10th, the Senate is planning to vote on The Keep Student Loans Affordable Act, which would cut our current student loan interest rates in half -- from 6.8% to 3.4 % -- for a year. In the Senator's home state of Mississippi alone, 54% of students from have student debt upon completion from college; the average student loan debt is $25,090; and 66,392 students in Mississippi are Stafford Loan borrowers. Going to college shouldn't mean a lifetime of paying off crushing loans, and students in Mississippi (and the rest of America) can't afford more debt!

Senator Alexander (R-TN) voted against students by voting "NO" to a bill that would have stopped student loan interest rates from doubling, on July 1st, and he voted "YES" on a bill that would see interest rates skyrocket. In Tennessee alone, 53% of students graduate with debt, and close to 132,000 are Stafford Loans borrowers. The average amount of student debt is $24,740. As the Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Senator Alexander is in a key leadership position. He has a responsibility towards his fellow Tennesseans to make sure that everyone receives a fair shake at an education -- and that includes students being able to afford one.

Comprehensive student loan reform would free up hundreds of millions of dollars currently being used to service debt, to be spent on ailing sectors of the economy, providing a real jump-start to economic growth and prosperity. Such reforms would put the American Dream back in reach for millions of Americans, unleashing a new era of entrepreneurship, investment and innovation for all. The question is not whether we can afford to make such reforms, but whether we can afford not to. At a time when the big banks can borrow from the federal government at near-zero percent interest rates, what sense does it make to force students to borrow exorbitant sums of money at outrageously high interest rates, just to obtain an education? If we, as a society, deem it so necessary to invest in the big banks with such sweetheart deals, why do we find it so difficult to find the political will to invest in our own people? Among the reforms that we, the undersigned, believe should be implemented include, but are not limited to: * Restoration of basic consumer protections, such as bankruptcy rights and statutes of limitations on the collections of student loan debt; * The right to refinance student loans so as to allow borrowers to take advantage of historically low interest rates; * Elimination of the $2,500 cap on the deductibility of student loan interest paid; * Elimination of the practice of interest capitalization on student loan debt; * The ability to consolidate private student loans with federal loans; and * Making all federal and private student loans eligible for income-driven repayment programs, such as Pay As You Earn, that limits payments to ten percent of income and provides forgiveness after 20 years; There is no shortage of good ideas, but a serious shortage of political will to address this ever-growing crisis. Along with any additional legislation that may be required, we, the undersigned, demand hearings and action on the following pending bills: * The Student Loan Fairness Act (H.R. 1330) - Rep. Bass * The Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act (H.R. 532) - Rep. Cohen * The Student Loan Affordability Act (S. 707) - Sen. Reed * The Student Loan Default Prevention Act (H.R. 618) - Rep. Michaud * The Know Before You Owe Private Student Loan Act (S. 113) - Sen. Durbin * The Student Loan Employment Benefits Act (H.R. 395) - Rep. Israel * The Student Loan Interest Deduction Act (H.R. 1527) - Rep. Rangel * Responsible Student Loan Solutions Act (S. 909/H.R. 1946) - Sen. Reed/Rep. Tierney * The Student Loan Relief Act (S. 953) - Sen. Reed * The Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act (S. 1066) - Sen. Gillibrand * Refinancing Education Funding to Invest for the Future Act (S.1266 ) - Sen. Brown * Proprietary Institution of Higher Education Accountability Act (H.R.1928) – Rep. DeLauro * Smarter Borrowing Act (S. 546) - Sen. Harkin * Fairness for Struggling Students Act of 2013 (S. 114) – Sen. Durbin * Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act (S. 897/ H.R. 1979) – Sen. Warren/ Rep. Tierney * Students First Act of 2013 (S. 406) – Sen. Lautenberg