For over a half-century, girls, women, LGBTQ youth, students of color, and students with disabilities have won significant battles in the fight for full recognition of our civil rights, including the right to get an education free of discrimination and harassment.

But now the Trump administration is working to reverse decades of progress through wide-ranging attacks on laws that protect students’ civil rights. From appointing extreme and unqualified Cabinet officials like Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to proposing deep budget cuts that will hamstring crucial civil rights agencies, they are working overtime to undermine the ideal of “freedom and justice for all.” Their latest target? Rules that require schools to provide equal educational opportunities to all students. But we can stop them, if we act right now.

Tell the Trump Administration: Respect students’ civil rights. Keep all current civil rights regulations and guidance in place.

Take Action

Civil rights laws protect students from discrimination on the basis of sex (Title IX); race, color and national origin (Title VI); and disability (Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). They are critical to ensuring that all students have the right to learn. That’s why the Department of Education has longstanding rules and regulations that require educators to do right by students and explain what schools must do to follow these laws. For example, these regulations and guidance documents provide schools with commonsense guidelines for addressing harassment based on race and offering accommodations for students who have disabilities, are pregnant or parenting, are learning English, and who have survived sexual assault. And the Department of Education is supposed to hold schools who fail to follow these laws accountable.

But instead, under the guise of “eliminating burdensome regulations,” the Trump administration is attacking these rules. They’re ignoring the benefits of eradicating sexism, racism, ableism, and other forms of bigotry from our schools, colleges, and universities. And they’re ignoring the fact that these laws and regulations were created to give all students — no matter their background or circumstances — a fair shot at learning and thriving. We can’t let them get away with it. The more of us who submit comments explaining why we believe these regulations must stay, the harder it will be to change them.

Thanks in advance for defending students’ civil rights by sending a comment today.

Sincerely,
Neena Chaudhry
Director of Education
National Women’s Law Center

We the Resistance is our fight to protect our rights and freedoms and to defend the most vulnerable among us through powerful collective action. Every conversation you have with a loved one about the issues important to you, every call you make to Congress, every rally you attend is a part of that resistance. Join us — sign on to the We The Resistance manifesto.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The changejustice project ~ Jon Perri

08/11/2017 Nativegrl77

Did you know that you’re one of Change.org’s most active signers on criminal justice reform? In fact, you’ve signed over 50 petitions just in the the last year! That’s why you’re the first to hear about our new project, changejustice.I’m Jon Perri, Change.org’s Director of Campaigns & Partnerships and the photo below is of me and Sharanda Jones. Sharanda was given a life sentence for a first time nonviolent drug offense and served nearly 17 years before receiving clemency from President Obama.

For over two years I helped her daughter with a Change.org petition that nearly 300,000 people signed. When she was finally free, those supporters raised over $25,000 to help her start her new life. That’s the kind of impact I want to see more of.

Through our new changejustice project, you’ll hear directly from people like Sharanda who served mandatory minimum sentences, from members of Congress working to improve the system, and from key organizations working on the most important pieces of legislation. It won’t just be petitions — we’ll send you powerful photos, videos, interviews and more to help you make the biggest impact on criminal justice reform.

The changejustice project launches soon, but one simple way you can support it right now is just by following us on Facebook and Twitter where you’ll find news, petitions, research, and more. Please follow us.

Thank you,Jonathan Perri
Director, Campaigns & Partnerships
Change.org

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

The kind of leader we need ~ Alliance for Gun Responsibility

08/10/2017 Nativegrl77

– with Donald Trump in the White House and politicians backed by the gun lobby controlling Congress, the best way to pass commonsense gun responsibility legislation is by doing it right here, in states like Washington.

That’s why we need your help: to take back the state legislature this November and achieve gun responsibility reform that will save lives. But POLITICO reports that right-wing groups are ready to spend big to defeat us.

Manka Dhingra’s race for state Senate in Washington’s 45th District is the only one in America that can flip control of an entire Legislature, but we’re falling short of our $10,000 goal and time’s running out before the deadline. We need you to give $5 or more right now to help stand up to the gun lobby in Washington and take back the state legislature.

Click here to give $5 or more right now to stand up to the gun lobby and take back control of the state legislature.

Manka Dhingra is one of the strongest gun responsibility advocates in the state of Washington – we desperately need to put control of the Senate in the hands of leaders like her who are ready to take on the gun lobby. But she’s counting on Alliance supporters like you:

Organizations like the Alliance are critical to helping build grassroots power to help advance legislation, and make sure we have leaders in our state willing to stand up for safety and well-being. - Manka Dhingra, Candidate for State Senate in Washington's 45th District

This election is CRUCIAL for taking back the state legislature and standing up to President Trump. But we’re counting on you to give now, every dollar you can, to have the resources to win:

If you’ve saved payment info with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

This bill NEEDS to pass

08/10/2017 Nativegrl77

Friend –

“You don’t do those things lightly.” That’s how Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt justifies cancelling a scheduled ban of chlorpyrifos, a toxic pesticide that harms kids’ brains.

Are you kidding me??? What we shouldn’t take lightly is damage to our kids – but that is EXACTLY what Pruitt is doing.

Here is the good news: We have another chance to get chlorpyrifos off the market for good – despite Pruitt’s decision to protect the pesticide industry rather than children’s health.

Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., introduced a bill with Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Ben Cardin of Marlyand and Ed Markey of Massachusetts that would override Pruitt’s decision and BAN chlorpyrifos once and for all.

Research has linked chlorpyrifos to nervous system damage, autism, ADHD and lower IQs in young children whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy. According to the EPA, chlorpyrifos is applied to more than 30 percent of apples, grapes and cherries grown in the U.S. While residues of chlorpyrifos are rarely detected on these crops, even trace amounts are harmful for kids.

This is our BEST chance to get this toxic pesticide off the market, and we need to make sure every single senator is listening. Can we count on you to stand with us, Friend?

Make sure the ban on chlorpyrifos passes: Click here to urge your senators to stand up to Big Ag and support S.1624 to BAN chlorpyrifos!

Scott Pruitt has a history of being cozy with polluters and pesticide lobbyists, and announced his decision on chlorpyrifos just weeks after meeting with Dow Chemical’s CEO, who just a few months prior gave President Trump $1 million to help pay for his inauguration! It’s clear that under Scott Pruitt, we can’t trust the EPA to stand up for our health.

By the EPA’s own calculations, typical exposures to chlorpyrifos for babies are five times greater than their proposed “safe” intake, and 11 to 15 times higher for toddlers and kids. Exposure doesn’t stop in the produce aisle – for farmworkers and those living in agricultural areas chlorpyrifos poses an even greater risk. This bill would ban chlorpyrifos, ending these harmful exposures and protecting future generations.

We need to make sure this bill passes and that fight starts today. Take action right now to stand up for your right to healthy food and a clean environment.

Tell your senators: Protect children from harmful exposures to the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos – support the bill to BAN chlorpyrifos!

Thanks for standing with us, Friend.

– EWG Action Alert