It is important because of the current Covid crisis because families are having to keep children at home and do school online and because monopolies and collusion between corporations that compete with each other is illegal and destroys the very foundation of a free market.

To acknowledge and support nurses who are at the frontline risking their lives daily.

Congressman John Robert Lewis was an American Hero and one of our Forefather's of Civil Rights. From his early activism as one of the original 13 Freedom Riders, his speech at the March on Washington, his march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama on Bloody Sunday March 7, 1966, to his 33 years in Congress Congressman Lewis spent his life's work for diversity, inclusion, and equality for all. Congressman Lewis is a recipient of Profile in Courage Award by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the Presidential Medal of Freedom along with countless other accolades. Even as John Lewis was dying he continued to put others ahead of himself. Prior to his passing Congressman John Lewis had the forethought to have his letter published in the NY Times on the day of his funeral where he addressed the younger generations, “Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.” In his letter to the NY Times on seeing Black Lives Matter Plaza Congressman Lewis wrote "I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on." https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html This is the time that we recognize this true American hero and not five, ten, or fifty years from now. Let us be more like Congressman John Lewis and be on the right side of this history.

Over the last ten months, Montgomery County Educators have been in negotiations with MCPS to make improvements to student learning conditions. Durante los últimos diez meses, los maestros(as) del Condado de Montgomery han estado en negociaciones para proporcionar mejores condiciones para el aprendizaje estudiantil. Meanwhile, the bargaining team that represents the Montgomery County Board of Education has refused to commit to legally binding agreements that address the obstacles to equity and access, and that create transparency in how resources are used at the school level. Mientras tanto, el equipo de negociación que representa a al Consejo de Educación se ha rehusado a comprometerse a acuerdos legalmente vinculantes que abordan los obstáculos a la equidad y el acceso, y crean transparencia en la utilización de recursos a nivel escolar. Specifically, educators are asking MCPS for: 1. The ability to ensure Black, Brown, and economically disadvantaged students are not disproportionately taught by novice teachers. 2. Administration to work with educators to end the school-to-prison pipeline. 3. The time to consider and prepare for the diverse needs of each student. 4. Transparency in the decisions being made related to building repairs, instructional material distribution, and staffing allocations at schools. Específicamente, los maestros(as) le exigen a MCPS lo siguiente: 1. La habilidad para asegurar que estudiantes negros, de color y en desventaja económica no sean desproporcionalmente enseñados por maestros(as) principiantes. 2. Administración para trabajar con educadores para ponerle fin al flujo de la escuela a la prisión. 3. Tiempo para considerar y prepararse para las necesidades diversas de cada estudiante. 4. Transparencia en las decisiones que se toman relacionadas a la reparación de edificios, la distribución de material de instrucción y la asignación de personal en las escuelas. MCPS continues to state they do not have enough resources to meet various student needs, yet they are planning to spend public money to involve a paid mediator, rather than reach common-sense agreements with educators that don’t cost money. MCPS continúa declarando que no tiene los recursos suficientes para atender múltiples necesidades estudiantiles; sin embargo, planifican gastar dinero público para pagar a un mediador externo, en lugar de llegar a acuerdos en buena fe con los maestros(as). Are the positions of the MCPS bargaining team representative of what the Board of Education members want for every student in the system? ¿Las posiciones del equipo de negociación de MCPS representan lo que los miembros del Consejo de Educación quieren para cada estudiante en el sistema? If not, we the undersigned, call on the Montgomery County Board of Education to direct their bargaining team to meet and negotiate with educators and come to an agreement that best benefits students and the Montgomery County community. Si no es así, nosotros(as) los que firmamos abajo, exigimos al Consejo de Educación del Condado de Montgomery que le pida a su equipo de negociación a reunirse y negociar con todos los maestros(as) y llegar a un acuerdo para el beneficio de todos los estudiantes y la comunidad del Condado de Montgomery.

Temporary administrative forbearance expires on September 30. The pandemic is making it impossible for some and much harder for others to resume payments. We are in a recession. We have lost our jobs. We have had reduced hours. We have increased childcare costs. We are not working to take care of school aged children. We are unable to find jobs. We are drowning in debt. Cancelling federally owned debt would benefit the U.S. economy, reduce the massive wealth divide, and give hope to millions of Americans struggling in today’s economy. The CARES Act placed federal student loans in a temporary administrative forbearance but what is needed is a permanent solution. Our crushing debt require cancellation entirely.

The last person you want making decisions for your children is Betsy DeVos. As Trump’s Education Secretary, DeVos has been a disaster from Day 1. But during the pandemic she’s only gotten worse. Secretary DeVos wants to hold federal school funding hostage to pressure schools to reopen in a couple of weeks, despite the nation still seeing spikes in COVID-19 cases.[1] Sign the petition: Tell Congress to block DeVos from using federal funds to pressure schools to reopen! Our nation’s schools are already massively underfunded. In a dangerous public health nightmare scenario like the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government should be funding schools to do whatever is necessary to protect students, teachers and staff, and slow the spread of the virus. Instead, if DeVos has her way, schools will have to reopen if they want federal funding that most districts desperately need. In short, DeVos wants to force cities and states to "re-open" - and doesn't seem to care if children, teachers, and school staff get sick or even die in the process. It’s worth remembering that DeVos has never once taught in a classroom, holds no degrees in education, and until Trump appointed her as Secretary of Education, had no government experience. DeVos is a right-wing billionaire donor whose pet project has been dismantling public education. Every year Trump has been in office, DeVos proposed massive budget cuts to the Department of Education. Now she’s only willing to put funds into schools if students, teachers, and school staff risk their health and their lives in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic. There’s not much time left to act before schools start in the fall. That’s why you need to tell Congress to stop DeVos immediately. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to block DeVos from using federal funds to pressure schools to reopen! [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/us/politics/trump-schools-reopening.html

As essential workers are demanded to show up to work and support the society's needs in the midst of a pandemic, they will need to arrange for childcare and tutors to enable their children's education and safety (both of which are legal requirements). For single-parent families of essential workers, many of whom are low income, virtual-only instruction is a sentence to oversized debt (if available), poor financial state, and even bankruptcy. For two-parent households, virtual-only instruction forces essential workers’ spouses to drop out of work, lose half of the household’s income and go into significant debt due to unexpected childcare costs. A virtual-only school plan is in effect challenging essential workers to choose between being good citizens and essential members of their communities and meeting the basic needs of shelter and food as well as the educational and emotional needs of their children. It asks essential workers to disproportionately bear the burden of the pandemic, and to do so twice: first, at a personal safety level, by being willing to make the ultimate sacrifice as they enter the workplace, risk being potentially infected with the COVID-19 virus and die, at no fault of their own; second, at a financial level, by making financial and career sacrifices to accommodate a virtual-only instruction and afford their children the learning and safety they deserve. These are unjust, cruel, and un-American options that essential workers, who have carried the society’s healthcare burden on their backs, are presented with to ensure the safety of their children and their educational advancements, as well as provide essential services to their communities. Through this petition, we urge the State of Michigan, the Ann Arbor Public Schools, and the community to support essential workers beyond lip service and front-yard signs at a time when essential workers need it most and the society needs them most.

So that we still have a Democracy and have laws protecting protestors and press and not fall into an authoritarian regime and fascism. Thanks so much, Mateo Zapata Zachai

To protect the health of teachers, students and community members and create equity for all students regardless of wealth.

WWU has stated their goal of holding in person classes in 2020, this makes sense as some classes simply can't be conducted online (For example Sculpting). Their plan involves attending classes until Thanksgiving break, afterwards, they intend to switch classes to online as to encourage student to stay home. One would expect as such the cost of housing would be decreased as to accommodate for this change. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. According to the WWU housing page the cost of housing for Fall 2020 will be even more expensive than the cost for Fall 2019 2019 https://housing.wwu.edu/apply/apply-now/room-and-board-rates & 2020 https://housing.wwu.edu/files/documents/Rates%20for%20Web%20Page_Quarterly%20Totals_with%20BT45_6-24-20_Covid%20Format_0.pdf). Additionally, students will be expected to pay for 17 days in which they won't be on campus. Take the cost of a typical Fall Quarter housing arrangement of a double room with a 100 meal plan at $4, 575. We attend for 80 days in the Fall Quarter, this comes out to $57 per day, multiply this by 17 days and you get $972. This is without including the cost of transportation and other campus utilities. While, we are happy with how WWU has responded to Covid-19. We shouldn't be expected to pay nearly $1,000 for housing and utilities in which we won't be using. If you support this petition please sign, it is a quick process and can potentially help many students!

Many students feel unsafe and are concerned for their health due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Allowing students a choice to take either online or in-person classes will cause less confusion and will prevent students from being excluded from classes they already enrolled in (which has been happening to many Bloomsburg University students in order to ensure safe social distancing protocol).

We, the people of South Carolina, urge you to put the welfare of every citizen before partisan politics We, the people of South Carolina, urge you not to put educators and school employees in harm's way. We, the people of South Carolina urge you to make masks, social distancing, and all recommendations of the CDC our state policies. We, the people of South Carolina, request you declare a state of emergency in education and find an immediate way for distanced learning to reach every child in communities with no internet connectivity.