Public schools have been decimated over the past few years and, when you increase funding, this funding is going towards testing, teacher evaluation systems, new programs, etc... instead of going for the students. This money should be going towards bringing back teaching assistants, bringing class sizes back down to previous levels, and bringing back social workers and psychologists to work with students who desperately need their services. If an individual claims to be a "lobbyist for the children", then they must do what is best for the children.

Coach Grisham was recorded by a student ranting and raving about the physical build of FLOTUS Michelle Obama. Although he has the right to his personal opinion, he does not have the right to state that opinion before students and others who may look to him as a role model. He used profane language and made the statement sound very racist. He also was noted to have said “I don’t believe in queers. I don’t like queers. I don’t hate them as a person, but what they do is wrong and an abomination against God.” This person is not the role model needed to teach impressionable children. Although the Lauderdale County High School coach was suspended by the school board this decision needs to be revisited and he needs to be fired and his teaching certificate should be revoked.

Let us cut the umbilical cord from the Texas State Board of Education to every School Book Publisher in the US. Because Texas is the major purchaser, by far, of schoolbooks used by children in every state, every schoolbook publisher in the United States must toe the Texas School Board of Education line. No State Board should be the national umpire for the contents of the schoolbooks every American schoolchild is taught by. Unless you live in Texas, you have no say on what schoolbooks contains. Our top priority in education must be one that starts our children equally on their path to education based on access to the broad aims of the Nation rather than narrowly to those of any one State.

The cost of college tuition has been increasing dramatically and this needs to stop. It is preventing many individuals from receiving an education. It is important that our future leaders of America benefit from the education system in order to improve our country.

My son attends Wadsworth Elementary School, which has been targeted for school closure. Our children's education and safety should be our top priorities, and dis-investing in our community schools should be stopped.

Immigrant youth should not be hindered from working towards a more promising future solely because they were brought to the United States by their parents at a young age without legal status. We believe the Iowa DREAM Act (SF80) would be a good building block for needed immigration reform and help add talented, motivated, and multi-lingual people to our workforce. They are important to our ability to counteract the serious demographic and workforce challenges we face in Iowa. The Dream Act represents a practical, fair, and compassionate solution for young persons who simply want to reach their potential and contribute to the well-being of our state. Please join us in telling Iowa lawmakers to pass the Iowa DREAM. act.

Our school doesn't have a track team, so with this Petition maybe we can get our Junior High/High School students to be more active. Some students are not eligable to play sports such as Basketball, Volleyball, or Football. With having a track team some students might actually be excited to be in a sport! Boys and Girls from 7th to 8th and 9th to 12th grade could join. The signatures you see are the students and some teachers that would be proud to have a track team!

Every parent that has or had a child in the NYS school system can identify with this issue. The current system is a closed system with no outside or parental oversight. There is no accountability except in house and that is like having the fox guard the hen house. Bullying, favoritism, partiality, crappy food, deaf administrators busy hanging on their own little power seats are rampant.

The Measures of Academic Progress (MAP®) test is unnecessary, unreliable, and costly. It is time for the Seattle School District to reevaluate its priorities, cancel MAP®, and restore precious class time and resources to our children.

When teens get the required 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep: • School attendance goes up, • Tardiness decreases, • They sleep less in class, • They get in fewer traffic accidents, • Visit nurses and counselors less often, and, • Report less depression and irritability. Starting school before 8:00 AM, without a doubt, undermines optimal academic achievement.

this petition is how Spring ISD schools have created an ineffective learning technique called "Layered Curriculum" which result in the student teaching themselves on subjects and important topics that need to be taught by teachers. This teaching format is very time consuming and the students only have a short period of time to do it while the teachers sit at their desk and do absolutely nothing. The curriculum consist of 60 or more assignments, which are each worth a certain amount of points, for example maybe 5. the teacher has the authority to give you the points or not if the work is not done to their pleasing, which the student does not know because it was not taught to them. I have been surveying and asking students and their grades from this lesson and the most responses i have been hearing is that their grades have been dropping because of it and not only in the class that they are doing the layer curriculum in but also in other classes because of how time consuming it is leaving them no time to focus on other things. This needs to be stopped as soon as possible because it is and will surely destroy our students future. (from personal experience)

The Youth Depot is the answer and solution to the social ills in society that plague and negatively affect our youth and disable too many from academically achieving their best, including, but not limited to, Gang Violence, Bullying, Obesity, HIV and AIDS, Unwanted Teen Pregnancy, High School Dropout, economic disadvantages, and other ills that hinder advancement. We must build Youth Depots as a reformation of the village that is needed to raise our children effectively, support parents, serve the community, build vocational skills, and subsequently promote social advancement. Governor Cuomo talked about providing all of these services in schools during his 2013 State of the State Address. Schools should be not be overwhelmed. These services need separate entities. Our youth need outlets where they can freely grow and learn as well as have a safe space for leisure outside of their homes and schools. Our teens need an outlet where they can grow and learn as well as have a safe and empowering space outside of their homes and schools. Since 3pm – 7pm on school days is nationally known to be the times when teens engage in negative activities, then we must provide a space that promotes engagement in positive activities as well as equip them with the tools and techniques necessary to be excellent students and productive dynamic citizens. Youth in rural and suburban areas need to learn how to counteract isolation, and youth in urban areas need to learn positive alternatives conflict.