Vermont Law School is an ABA accredited law school nestled in the small city of South Royalton, VT. The school opened in 1972 as one of only a handful of independent, private law schools in the U.S. In 2012, the number of entering JD students was 171. Vermont Law has been named one of the best law schools for public interests and for women by the National Jurist. Vermont Law's mission is "To educate students in a diverse community that fosters personal growth and that enables them to attain outstanding professional skills and high ethical values with which to serve as lawyers and environmental and other professionals in an increasingly technological and interdependent global society." The current tuition for a 3 year JD is $46,110 (annually) and the school does not receive any state funding. Currently VLS requires its students who are taking at least 5 credit hours to obtain health insurance. If insurance is not obtained the student risks being charged a noncompliance fee of $1,000.00 per semester. “The schools insurance is offered through Blue Cross Blue Shield with deductible amounts ranging from $ 500 to $ 2,500. The two plans offered differ by deductible amount, varying out-of-pocket maximums, price, etc.” After researching these plans, I realized that Blue Cross and Blue Shield does not extend coverage to transgender students who attend VLS. With Vermont Law being a school that prides itself on the diversity of its student body, it is alarming that a facet of the student population is not covered for medically necessary hormones and/or procedures, all the while being required to purchase this coverage. Currently there are 37 colleges and universities that cover hormones and gender reassignment/confirmation surgeries for students. One of which is only an hour away from VLS in nearby Burlington, VT (University of Vermont). According to www.tgender.net “Transsexualism is very rare. According to the DSM-IV, it affects an estimated 1 in 30,000 people; the latest research estimates that the total annual cost per insured is $.05 to cover surgery, or $.17 to cover surgery, hormones, and therapy. With medical insurance costing upwards of $4,000 per year, to cover THBs would be about .004%.” As you can see it would be very inexpensive to add this insurance inclusion for trans-students and staff at Vermont Law School. If a school wishes to remain competitive in such an over saturated industry, one must continue to offer programs that others don’t. Seeing as how all students pay $46,110 per year, all students’ health needs should be addressed and considered. Please sign my petition to show Vermont Law School that they need to offer an insurance policy that covers the needs of ALL students and staff.

Gmo has helped to cause a tremendous rise in Cancer, Autism and many other diseases, we need to go back to eating real and wholesome, nutritious food.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in children, secondhand smoke causes the following: -Ear infections -More frequent and severe asthma attacks -Respiratory symptoms (e.g., coughing, sneezing, shortness of breath) -Respiratory infections (i.e., bronchitis, pneumonia) -A greater risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) It's been banned in other state's and it needs to be banned in Illinois. It is banned in other states and should be banned in Illinois.

The lack of adult dental care in California has undermined the state’s healthcare infrastructure. Children’s dental disease, especially among the poor, is at epidemic levels in the state, according to the United States Surgeon General. My mother is a disabled Medi-Cal recipient, and the restoration of these funds would allow her to see the dentist again.

Unlike 62 other countries that currently label GMOs, politicians in Washington continue to protect corporate profits over the public's right-to-know what is in our food. Maine can do better. There’s a bill with broad bi-partisan support in the state legislature this year that would label GMOs in Maine. With big, out of state companies in the biotech and food producing industries pressuring lawmakers to leave GMOs unlabeled, Maine legislators need to hear from you!

Currently the law in New Mexico for sexual consent reflects the ages of 13/16.

With viruses always being spread shouldn't employers be required to provide sick leave to their employees? This past winter and early spring I noticed so many people getting sick: strep throat, the flu(multiple different strains), the norovirus, and the list goes on; many don't take work off because they don't receive any kind of paid sick time and really can't afford it. This just causes the diseases to spread that much easier and faster, with commutes to work and being around your co-workers, then going home to family...; some kind of law needs to be mandated requiring employers to provide at least 40 hours of sick time to their employees.

CONTACT CT GOVERNOR MALLOY AND CT LEGISLATORS ASK THEM TO FUND THE HUSKY A PROGRAM. THE GOVERNOR HAS PROPOSED CUTTING AN ESTIMATED 37,500 PARENTS OFF THE PROGRAM LEAVING THEM WITH NO MEDICAL COVERAGE. THAT'S INHUMANE AND DOESN'T MAKE ECONOMIC SENSE. (See below)

Adjunct professors face a lot of pressures-- nationally we earn just $2700 per course. That’s $2700 to develop curriculum, teach, grade papers and tests, provide detailed student feedback, have office hours, and write student recommendations. We have no job security semester-to-semester, and few of us have access to affordable benefits, even though we now teach more than 50% of college courses nationwide. One of the biggest obstacles adjunct faculty face is figuring out how to get access to affordable healthcare. As millions across the country are gaining access to healthcare with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (also known as ObamaCare), many part-time faculty are finding that the universities and colleges where they work are adopting measures that prevent part-time faculty from gaining access to affordable benefits. In fact, part-time faculty are seeing their course loads and hours cut as universities seek to avoid mandates requiring them to provide insurance to their employees who work 30 hours a week. With this trend, our contingency and lack of stability deepens. Many of us must teach courses at several campuses in order to earn the same salary, but still without access to affordable healthcare. I spent much of my career piecing together adult basic education teaching work and adjunct and/or contracted faculty work in English Departments within both public and private higher education institutions, and I know access to affordable healthcare is an issue of great importance for contingent faculty. Stand with me in calling on colleges and universities to work with adjunct faculty to ensure everyone has access to affordable healthcare. The petition will be delivered to the Boston Consortium for Higher Education, which works to develop quality improvements at 11 universities and college in Boston. Deborah Schwartz, Asssistant Director of the Adult LIteracy Resource Institute/Greater Boston SABES Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

With the extensive work of the Affordability Care Act, there still may be many people left without the option of buying affordable health insurance, especially in a simple manner. Many of the people without simplified access provide the social fabric of our society through part-time work, so they can have time with their family and perform volunteer activities. These people may add a relatively healthy population to both pools, helping with the budget problems of Medicaid and Medicare.

Congress has voted 37 times to overturn Obamacare, but most members of Congress get premium, federally subsidized health care benefits via the Federal Employee Health Benefits plan (FEHB).

Mental illness. Many people suffer mental illness sometime during their lives. It strikes us when we are our most vulnerable after tradegy strikes. Soon life gets better and there is light at the end of the tunnel of darkness. For people with mental disease, it never goes away. As children we are afflicted. It lingers. Waits. Challenges productivity. Interferes with social interaction. Makes us vicitms of spousal Abuse. Robs us of everyday life. Whether a mentally challenged victim of war with PSTD or stressed from chronic compulsive disorders, born with autism, or suffer from severe chronic depression or bipolar disorder. So many of us struggle to be functional in everyday life and that stress makes everyday challenges ten-fold harder to accept, work out, live thru. It becomes so exhausting and unendurable many choose self-inflicted suicide or as seen in many recent incidents, seek violence as their last stand. Please join me in my meager attempt to explain, describe the need and request your actions to improve MENTAL AWARENESS &MEDICATIONS MONITORING to end the cycle of self abuse, loss of so many brave soldiers, loss of youths that could've been our next Einsteins, struggling people whose only handicap was to be born chemically unbalanced in the brain. Please help me by signing this petition to inform candidates, Congressmen, Senators, School Officials, Police Officers and the President the urgent need to push for legislation to better empower people with these disabilities. Life is possible with medications, proactive searching for the correct diet, dosage of chemicals to help with these disorders and to educate Teachers, Police what to look for, how to proactively find these children early before they become the next victim in an obituary or monster in Theatre or God forbid a desperate insane driven young man in a school building. Please help me. I hear of people who cannot afford their medicines so they purposely perpetrate crimes to be convicted, housed, jailed and receive their medications. In jails, their families can better received aide and afford food. Many go throughout life abusing their wives or children without medications. Everyday some youth kills herself due to mental illness because they just can't stand to face another day. Some are more violent and try to take others with them. I have met so many mentally challenged people and they all require medications and good nutrients to better cope with their disabilities. Please an Executive Order to make easier access for affordable care and easier access to affordable medications.