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

Though it sounds expensive, a free and complete education for everyone—from Head Start to college, including vocational school—is possible through savings from other government programs. It is a prosperous investment for all of us, except for the wealthiest Americans, because the side effect is that universal education would save tax dollars and increase the tax base! Once the children who normally grow up on welfare or in poor working families receive a complete education, the cycle of poverty will be broken. The overwhelming majority will have good jobs within reach, hope, and a real opportunity for a better life for themselves and their children. The American dream, which is currently being denied to them and their children, would finally be attainable. They would no longer need to rely on public assistance or be forced to turn to crime, two major expenses to taxpayers. They would become well-paid taxpayers, thus increasing the tax base, and consumers, thus boosting our economy. Let's make it happen. Let's make all education—from preschool to college, including trade schools— free for every American citizen of every age. The GOP and Tea Party conservatives would never let this happen, because they want inequality, poverty, injustice, suffering, and crime to continue in perpetuity. They want the status quo to be permanent! We must end this legislative nightmare in our government by eliminating the GOP and Tea Party conservatives. Join me in my quest for a better America! -William J Ryan

I'm $80,000 in debt just because I wanted to get an education. Nationwide, students are over one trillion dollars in debt. With education only affordable to a small number of people, the American dream will die due to needless debt.

Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, who will be retiring as chancellor of City University of New York (CUNY) as of July 1, 2013, has illegally scrapped the governance plan of Medgar Evers College at CUNY. The scrapped 1972-ratified governance plan had 23 students that served in various capacities. This move by the chancellery and the CUNY Board of Trustees will have a disastrous effect on the democratic process of Medgar Evers College and effectively silence students' voices.