Colorado

Colorado has long been at the center of the debate over school safety. There, and in many other states across the country, zero-tolerance policies were enacted that, while well-intentioned, ended up criminalizing students over the slightest infractions and establishing a school-to-prison pipeline. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the grassroots group Padres y Jóvenes Unidos, Denver Public Schools are a big step closer to the end of excessive policing of their students.

On February 27th, the Opportunity to Learn Campaign will be hosting a webinar on racial justice with the Applied Research Center, an OTL ally. The webinar will provide advocates and organizers with valuable tools for framing and combating racial disparities in our nation's education system. Sign up here!

Need some help developing or advocating for policies in your state to tackle school pushout and end the school-to-prison pipeline? Then look no further than this newly released state policy guide from the Opportunity to Learn Campaign! The guide provides advocates and policymakers with recommendations for ending the ineffective and discriminatory practice of out-of-school suspensions as well as a summary of the significant action and legislative proposals that are already underway in states to address our national pushout crisis.

Driven by the simple belief that students are the ones in the classroom and they should be asked about their learning experiences, advocates from 10 states (including many OTL allies) came together at a convening at the Harvard Graduate School of Education to develop messaging and organizing strategies to push for student input in the decisions affecting their education and teacher evaluations. Already in a few states, there are policies that give students a voice in the classroom, and many other states and districts would like to change their own policies through student input.

Join the Opportunity to Learn Campaign (along with members of the Dignity in Schools Campaign, our partner in the Solutions Not Suspensions initiative) for a 60-minute webinar on October 3rd to learn how you can go from outrage over harsh school discipline polices to movement building! This webinar will examine how student organizers in Philadelphia were able to collect necessary data, build their coalition, and win a decisive victory bringing about alternatives to out-of-school suspensions.

The Urgency of Now: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males finds that almost half of Black and Latino males do not graduate high school in four years.  Without a policy framework that creates opportunity for all students, strengthens supports for the teaching profession and strikes the right balance between support-based reforms and standards-driven reforms, the U.S. will become increasingly unequal and less competitive in the global economy. Where does your state rank? Visit www.blackboysreport.org to learn more!

Today the National Opportunity to Learn Campaign is joining forces with the Dignity in Schools Campaign to launch Solutions Not Suspensions, a call for a moratorium on out-of-school suspensions. Every year, 3.3 million students in the United States are suspended from school, causing them to miss critical learning time, as well as opportunities to grow and succeed. Recent federal data show that Black and Latino students and students with disabilities are disproportionately targeted by suspensions. Solutions Not Suspension is calling on states and districts to support teachers and schools in dealing with discipline in positive ways – keeping students in the classroom and helping educators work with students and parents to create safe and engaging classrooms that protect the human rights to education and dignity.