We were so proud of our students yesterday. They rallied thousands upon thousands of Americans, both young and old, to send a clear message: We deserve safer American schools.
We now owe it to them to follow up with the April 20 Day of Action Against Gun Violence in Schools. Please join NPE and our partner organizations including the AFT, NEA, BATs, NASSP, NAESP, AASA, the Brady Foundation, and so many more during the National Day of Action on April 20. You can find our alliance website, ProtectOurSchools.com.
If you’re looking for an April 20 event or planning an event at your school or workplace, go here.
NPE will do an online campaign. Sign up for the NPE letter and phone call campaign that day. We are creating sign up hubs across the country. If there is not one close to you, then type in this zip code, 11415, and sign up.
Create your own event at your school or workplace and add it to the mix. We’ve created a t-shirt you can wear on April 20th to show your support for safe schools for all. Just click the image below to purchase.
My latest piece for the Washington Post’s Answer Sheet blog explains the federal voucher bills that have been introduced in both the Senate and the House. These bills would create the first national voucher program funded with your tax dollars.
You can read that piece here. Share it with friends. We must increase awareness.
Both HR 5199 and S. 2517 use Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) to deliver funding for privatized choice options for military families. What makes them especially terrible is that the funds are taken directly out of Impact Aid, which goes to property poor school districts. This is the worst proposal I have seen–no guardrails or caps, no comprehensive checks against fraud, and wording to allow discriminatory entrance practices in voucher schools. And who is put in charge? Betsy DeVos.
These bills must be stopped. Please call and write this week.
CLICK HERE to find contact information for your Senators and your Representative.
Here are some talking points for your call and email:
— I do not want my federal tax dollars to fund religious and private education. Our public dollars should go to public schools.
–This bill pulls funds from property poor school districts that need more, not less, funding.
–Over 80% of our military families send their children to public schools. Let’s use our resources to support them.
–Advocacy organizations that support military families have made it clear that they do not want impact aid reduced.
–To put Betsy DeVos in charge of regulating and administrating such a massive program would be a serious mistake. She is openly hostile to public education and she is, at best, marginally competent to oversee the program.
CLICK HERE to find contact information for your Senators and your Representative. Call and write this week.
Long Island, NY Opt Out Activist Jeanette Deutermann Highlighted
in Latest 8 Powerful Voices Video Release
Minutes ago we released the sixth of eight videos created for NPE by Michael Elliot and Kemala Karmen.
Jeanette Deutermann has been a powerful force in New York’s Opt Out movement. In this short, two minute clip she gets straight to the heart of why so many parents opt out. They’re not just refusing “the test,” they’re refusing to participate in the destruction of their children’s education.
You can watch Jeanette’s inspiring video here. You can also find the entire series here. As we enter “testing season” be sure to do what you can to amplify Jeanette’s message.
If you’re an Amazon shopper, please consider making any future purchases through AmazonSmile, and setting NPE as your charity of choice. Here’s how it works:
Sign in to smile.amazon.com on your desktop or mobile phone browser.
- From your desktop, go to Your Account from the navigation at the top of any page, and then select the option to Change your Charity. Or, from your mobile browser, select Change your Charity from the options at the bottom of the page.
- Select Network for Public Education Fund Inc.
- Shop and support NPE!
For more information about the AmazonSmile program, go to http://smile.amazon.com/about.
Remember that whenever you make a purchase from Amazon, do it through smile.amazon.com.
Conference Registration Opening Soon!
Our 5th Annual National Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana will bring public education advocates from around the country together to fight for the future of public education. When registration first opens, we will offer an Early Bird Special with discounted ticket prices, so be sure to look for an email announcement in about a month. For now, mark you calendars!
We look forward to seeing you in Indy!
Thank you for all you do,
Carol Burris
Executive Director
