Stop the interest on student loans...I took out a loan for my son, for 2 years or more i made payments the principal never went down..when i question why ..is because the payment i send was according to SALLIE MAE FOR INTEREST ONLY..this is not right..

Physical education has long been a part of the standard American school curriculum. Why not mental health? Why not educate children from a young age about their mind and feelings, how they work, and how to manage them? We must break the stigma against maintaining our mental health or asking for help in this area if we need it. What good is a healthy body without a healthy mind?

This petition is in response to the massive slaughter of 28 innocent children and teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, December 14, 2012. I am petitioning the government to install bullet proof windows and doors in all public schools.

School lunch menus fail to offer a meat-free option to students. It is unfair to force our children to eat dead animals if they wish NOT to do so. My daughter's lunch menu offers 'lunch A' and 'lunch B', both of which always have MEAT in them. We are vegetarians who don't drink cow's milk, therefor, my daughter comes home hungry, not having eaten almost every day. More than just cow's milk should be offered to drink! Even the salads have meat! This is unacceptable. My children don't want to eat dead animals, nor should they have to. If there are two options, one should be MEAT-FREE!

Senate Bill 59 allows concealed weapons to be carried in our schools and places of worship. All it requires to obtain is extra training. We do not need this law! It's a potential risk without a real reason as to why we should free this up

The recent tragic shooting that occurred in a school.

The residents of Sandy Hook deserve privacy. Their fear and grief should be private and the news media does not demonstrate decency or respect in these situations. You can simply report "The children and teachers of Sandy Hook returned to school today. Our hearts are with them." If you need drama you can have panels of experts or adults who have faced this situation explain what they must be going through. If you show pictures or news footage or interviews of kids on their first day/week back we will boycott your show and network. Decency needs to return to mainstream media.

High School should be reformed so that it helps students find what they are truly interested in. Currently, schools focus too much on preparing their students to take standardized tests. High school becomes an unrelenting routine of studying subjects in which you have no interest and dealing with peers with whom you have little in common, all the while experiencing the stresses of puberty. To relieve these tensions, I propose that students be allowed to set the pace at which they complete the high school curriculum, perhaps extending it over a fifth year. Students should be able to explore a range of subjects, pursue extracurricular activities, take some free time, and discover their true interests and passions. Also, they should be able to go to school just to attend classes without being stuck there for the entire school day.

We would like to have a security person at each school entrance for the duration of the school day with a metal detecting wand or device to ensure no one with concealed weapons can gain entry to the main office of any school in the district.

Allowing qualified CWP holders to carry a gun on school grounds.

Gauraunteed Child Safety in EVERY classroom.

Dear Mr. President, In the recent years, the Arts have been eliminated from schools, as Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, and better test scores seem to be the primary focus. While parents are forced to work extra jobs, or have taken pay cuts; the elimination of these programs from schools due to budget cuts, have encouraged the children will grow up with limited creativity, innovation, and problem solving skills. The arts promote, develop,encourage, and provide a safe, exploring experience for children to practice skills that are vital to the rest of their education. Skills like science and math will be effected because of their difficulty in solving complex problems, as they will struggle with the ability to creatively think out the answers. The effect of the arts (i.e., dance, theater, music, art) on children cannot be denied or ignored. Without these programs both during school and after school, the child is subjected to limited activities, primarily video games (mostly promoting violence), and watching TV, (primarily action and violent shows.) Hours of this type of violence educates our children to become accustom and accept violence. There is too much violence being caused by teens and young adults. Children and teens need to become more involved in programs that demonstrate positive support and supervision, and encourage the children to think creatively. This should help them to pursue a life and develop into an adult who is bright, educated, innovative, and cultured.