The Human Rights Campaign Foundation released their 2023 School Discipline and School to Prison Pipeline Report as part of Project THRIVE. This report focuses on data from a survey of LGBTQ+ youth in 2022. The report finds that in-school suspension and expulsion increases the likelihood of incarceration by 128%, and specifically targets and disproportionately impacts
On September 26th, 2023, SchoolHouse Connection hosted a webinar about the expiration of this one-time funding in September 2024. Daniel Espinosa of the Learning Policy Institute and Barbara Duffield the executive director of SchoolHouse Connection, shared statistics, barriers to support, and alerted new letter of guidance for how states should use their remaining American Rescue
On September 20th, 2023, the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee hosted a hearing entitled “Childcare Since the Pandemic: Macroeconomic Impacts of Public Policy Measures.” Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) lead the meeting, joined by Senator John Kennedy (R-LA). Senator Warren started with how broken the childcare system in the United States is following the
Child Poverty Reduction Act On September 21, 2023, Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA), Representative Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Representative Sara Jacobs (D-CA), and U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Child Poverty Reduction Act of 2023 to commit the nation to cutting child poverty by half in 5 years and to
On Friday, September 22, 2023, First Focus on Children released its annual Children’s Budget Book in a live event hosted by the Senate Budget Committee. Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) opened the event, stating, “there is no better investment the Federal government can make than in children and families. We save $7 for every $1 we
On September 13, 2023, Representatives Katherine Clark (D-MA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Sara Jacobs (D-CA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Child Care Stabilization Act to extend vital federal child care stabilization funding, which is
On September 12, 2023 the Senate Judiciary Committee held "Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature," to discuss the constitutional right to knowledge through literature. Charman Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the debate with extensive history of book banning in the United States. He asserts that banning books does not come from the effort
On July 13th, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) designed to improve affordability and access to care options for families and promote financial stability of child care providers participating in the federal child care subsidy program under the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). This
On September 12th, 2023 the U.S. Department of Education released a “Dear Colleague Letter” to Chief State School Officers asking States to modify their administrative procedures to expedite spending American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) funds. These funds, that must be obligated by September of 2024, provide supports for students experiencing homelessness who
On July 26, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education conducted a hearing titled "Generational Learning Loss: The Impact of Prolonged School Closures During the Pandemic." Chairman Aaron Bean (R-FL) opened the session expressing deep concern about the academic setback suffered by students due to the extended school closures