Student loan debt now exceeds $1 trillion. The debt burden now falls on 37 million Americans. Over recent decades, higher education has been treated as an individual commodity, rather than a public good or an investment in our collective future. As a result, millions are now buried under the weight of student debt and are putting off major purchases and life decisions. This has serious negative consequences for our economy and our future. This is NOT only a "young person's problem." At least 60% of the $1 Trillion is owed by Americans over the age of 30. In short, student loan debt has become the latest financial crisis in America. If we do absolutely nothing, the entire economy will eventually come crashing down again, just as it did when the housing bubble popped. But now, there is a solution: H.R. 1330 - The Student Loan Fairness Act - Introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) and co-sponsored by Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL)! The Student Loan Fairness Act would create a new “10-10” standard for student loan repayment, in which an individual would be required to make ten years of payments at 10% of their discretionary income, after which, their remaining student loan debt would be forgiven. Further, this legislation would: • ensure low interest rates; • allow those eligible to convert their private loan debt into federal direct loans; • reward graduates for entering public service professions; • provide a lifeline for student borrowers who have fallen on difficult times; • encourage delinquent and defaulted borrowers to re-enter repayment; • replace the current, 10 year “Standard Repayment Plan” for the full amount of the loan balance with the “10-10” plan as the default repayment option for borrowers entering repayment. Student loan debt causes an undeniable and significant drag on the economy. The Student Loan Fairness Act directly addresses this enormous boot on the neck of the middle class and represents a glimmer of hope for millions of Americans who, with each passing day, find that the American Dream is more and more out of reach. Therefore, we, the undersigned, respectfully request that Congress vote Yes on H.R. 1330, the Student Loan Fairness Act and, thereafter, that President Obama sign this bill into law. To learn more about H.R. 1330, The Student Loan Fairness Act, please click here: http://studentdebtcrisis.org/hr1330/facts_faqs/

I am a parent, a tax payer, a resident of Walden, NY for over 50 years and a graduate of the Valley Central School District, the State University of New York and Villanova University.  I  believe that the greatest investment any of us in this room has made in our lives is the investment in our education.   First of all thank you for meeting with us today.  Two nights ago as our Board of Education struggled to decide the fate of an elementary school where children have been nurtured and educated for over 90 years due to an 8.1 million dollar shortfall, the Superintendent of our school district publicly referred to our belief that we may be heard in Albany as “the opiate for the masses.” This was no doubt a statement that reflects the frustration of watching a school district and a community taken apart by devastating cuts to programs and staff after ten years as Superintendent of Schools.  On January 2, 2011, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in his inauguration speech  “Too often government responds to the whispers of lobbyists before the cries of the people”.  We are here today in the hope that you will hear our cries and that you may respond to our voice.   New York State has a constitutional obligation to provide the funding for the opportunity for a sound basic education to every one of New York’s sons and daughters.  Three months ago Governor Cuomo proclaimed himself the children’s lobbyist announcing that he was taking on a second job.  He has arrogantly championed his program for education reform.  But since 2010 over 50 schools in New York State have closed – the vast majority under his governorship.  In addition, districts across the State have been stripped of offerings such as sports, music, language and art.  I am not sure whose children he is the lobbyist for but the reason I am here today is to inform you that I am firing him from that second job.  I am here as a parent to lobby for my own daughter because it is not acceptable to me that she will be offered an education of inferior quality when she begins school than I received from the same school district over 30 years ago and what’s more, my wife and I will not permit her to be placed at an educational disadvantage to help benefit the political aspirations of an ambitious governor.   You will not find a town named Valley Central on a map of New York State but it exists as a community as sure as any that can be found.  Fifty years ago, the villages of Maybrook, Walden and Montgomery and outlying area united forming Valley Central, a public school district that today is more than 4,500 students strong.   Historically we are a rural district and have prided ourselves on being conservative and fiscally responsible to tax payers. Although there have been additions, the newest of the seven buildings in our district was built in 1969.  For decades the school district advertised to voters that the cost per pupil was at or near the bottom of the list when compared to every school in the Mid Hudson Valley.  Travel within 30 minutes in any direction from our district and there are state of the art high schools and million dollar athletic complexes but other than a swimming pool made possible by large donations from the community,  our district looks pretty much the same as it did in 1969.     And what was the prize for fiscal responsibility?  Gap Elimination -  a formula that reduced our state aid somehow based on the assumption that the relative wealth of our community exceeds the amount of school tax needed to fund our programs.  The solution?  Raise taxes to reduce the Gap Elimination penalty.  But as you know this puts our district in a choke hold because Governor Cuomo has enacted a 2% tax cap that really isn’t 2%.   This cap cannot be pierced without a super majority vote, a regulation that may not have constitutional validity.  As a result, the Valley Central Board of Education is faced with closing at least one elementary school, cutting kindergarten, art, music, library, all sports and extra-curriculars, class sizes of over 30 students even at the elementary levels and cutting the jobs of talented teachers – some with 6 or more years of valued service.  And this still will not close the 8.1 million dollar shortfall without depleting the fund balance and/or raising taxes.     I have three basic requests that I ask today. The first is that you restore the Gap Elimination Aid Adjustment loses. This regulation that originally was proposed as a one year adjustment has continued for the past three years at a price to the Valley Central District of over 5 million dollars each year, directly contributing to our 8.1 million dollar shortfall.   If you are unwilling or unable to restore those loses and insist that the State is meeting its obligation to adequately fund our district, my second request is that you remove the handcuffs from our community and give us a fair and constitutional opportunity to fund our schools locally by suspending the super majority requirement until our tax rate can be incrementally raised to the point where you have determined is appropriate for the relative wealth of our community and reinstitute the cap at that time.     The third request is that you reduce the restrictions on the districts Employee Benefits Accrued Liability Reserve funds (EBALR) so that it can be accessed to help preserve these cuts that will cripple our schools and eventually destroy our district.     It has been said that the greatest of all evils is the destruction of hope.  If none of these options are viable I need to ask you today what hope are you willing to give to the children of the Valley Central School District?  Are you willing to promise anything other than a multi-million dollar short fall and more cuts in the years to come?  If that is the case, it is obvious that the Governor’s  real vision for educational reform is to have the line for the Principal’s office next to the line for the window for motor vehicle registration....

I am a public school teacher in Detroit. I have a degree in children with Cognitive Impairments. I was laid off because my principal (who was never in my room) gave me low grade on my bogus evaluation. Support teachers and stay out of our paychecks and our business.

The Lack of concern about the poor quality of education for our children. Don't blame the teachers, blame politicians who don't understand or even care what they are doing to our country by not providing appropriate funding for education.

Raises for Teachers

I am petitioning to have you cease your actions regarding the bargaining and funding of public education systems. Keep you word and fund education and stay out of the collective bargaining portions of public education. Serve the poor and needy not yourselves. That is what you were elected to do.

Unionize charter school staff and teachers. Will the Ohio Republicans continue to overfund their friend's private slush fund schools then? Most teachers realize they are trying to dismantle teacher unions. Unionizing charter/parochial school staff is the first step.

Cutting teachers' pensions is acting in bad faith. Money was withheld for the pensions from theri salaries and should not be considered as a source for state income.

We are three graduate students enrolled in a Social Welfare Policy Analysis class at University of South Carolina. As part of our group project, we are creating this petition to advocate awareness about Bill H. 3016: Cooperative Dual Credit High School Programs. Dual credit high school programs are established to bring high school students the opportunity to begin and/or complete an associates degree, certificate, or vocational program. Another option is for students to earn up to two years of college credit within the four years they are attending high school. Positive Successes of Dual Credit High School Programs: (1) decrease in retention rates (2) increase in completion rates (3) admission to four year institutions (4) post graduation employment (5) decrease in dropout rates (6) certification and associates degrees completed

“to let undocumented students qualify for in-state tuition, but only if they attended a Florida high school for at least three years. The students would also have to file an affidavit with the college stating plans to legalize their immigration status” (McGrory, 2013).

Tell the student loan authority to reimburse payments taken from disability and social security checks. Seniors and the disabled shouldn't be burdened with these payments.

I have taken part in music programs when I was in school. A lot of kids that take part in art and music and science type programs tend to do better in reading, writing, math and science and it also helps keep kids out of trouble and gives them an outlet for self expression.