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Policy
SEATTLE, WA – Washington
state Sen. Marko Liias recently
announced a series of three
new bills to help relieve student
debt. The first targets loan
providers who engage in fraud,
and would create an ombudsman
position to investigate it. The
second bill cuts employers’ taxes
if they help their staffers repay
their loans, while the third
explores “lower cost loan options,” like those that use tax-exempt
bonds, to help expand access to higher education for those who
otherwise couldn’t afford it. Sen. Liias noted the importance
of loan relief, saying, “Spiraling student loan debt is strangling
middle class households and those who aspire to middle-class
households.”
YEO F r o n t l i n e N e w s • Q1 2016 • PG 4
Society
National
June 9-11 – Save the date for the annual gathering
of the nation’s brightest progressive legal minds. The
event brings together over 1,000 policymakers, elected
officials, and lawyers in Washington, DC to discuss
forced arbitration, racial justice movements, and other
constitutional law matters.
open letter
to President
Obama urging
the US to generate 100 percent of its power from
renewables by the year 2050.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – YEO Supervisor Jane
Kim voted against a proposal to build a new
jail complex, joining activists who called the plans
misguided and costly. Those opposed to the jail said
other concerns, including expanding affordable housing
and homelessness prevention, should be the city’s top
priorities instead.
Institute for Educational Leadership – 2016
National Family and Community Engagement
Conference
June 20-22 – This year’s conference in Pittsburgh will
focus on program practice for community organizations
and schools and how they can work together to further
mutual goals. Plenaries will examine issues of equity,
early support and intervention, parent leadership, and
more.
Schott Foundation for Public Education – Black
Lives Matter: The Schott 50 State Report on
Public Education and Black Males
Read the Schott Foundation’s report on the four-year
graduation rates for black males, the disparities in
opportunity they face, and what can be done to address
them.
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w w w .YEON e t w o r k . o r g
Clean Power Plan:
Earth Day Resolution
At the Policy Academy, YEOs
strategized about actions they
could take as a collective in support
of clean energy and environmental
justice. They organized around a
joint statement of support for the
Clean Power Plan, particularly
noting
the
disproportionate
impact that carbon pollution has
on low-income and indigenous
communities and communities
of color – as well as the effects of
climate change on young people
and future generations.
YEOs also resolved to support the
plan for its economic benefits. The
CPP will encourage our nation’s
transformation into a modern, clean
energy superpower, creating jobs as
it reduces the airborne pollutants
that cause respiratory illnesses and
other health issues for marginalized
communities. According to one
estimate, the plan will also save
families $85 on their annual electricity
bills.
YEO F r o n t l i n e N e w s • Q1 2016 • PG 5
Membership
ITHACA, NY – Ithaca, NY became the latest of over
100 cities and 18 states to “ban the box.” Applicants to
city jobs will no longer be asked about any felony convictions
on their first round of interviews. Mayor Svante Myrick added,
“Discouraging good people from applying hurts our organization
and prevents previously incarcerated people from doing the
work needed to get their lives on track. This is just one more step
towards ensuring that our economy works for everyone.”
American Constitution
Convention
PITTSBURGH,
PA – Pittsburgharea YEOs
Natalia Rudiak,
Fawn WalkerMontgomery, and
Marita Garrett
were among 353
local politicians
who signed an
Policy in
Action
P olicy
Membership
PARTNER RESOURCES
Continued
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