Veterans Day Message: Honoring Latino Military Servicemembers And Their Commitment To America.

Monthly Education Policy E-Newsletter August Edition

Act Now to Fight the Budget Cuts!

Email your Member of Congress and urge them to repeal the sequestration process.

Over the next few weeks, Congress will be voting on legislation that funds critical programs and services. September 30 is a key deadline as legislators seek to pass funding bills before the end of the fiscal cycle. This timeframe provides LULAC an opportunity to weigh-in with Members of Congress to urge them to repeal the ill-conceived automatic budget cuts known as the "sequestration process."

Email your Member of Congress and urge him/her to repeal the sequestration process now!

Attend an Education Watch Party!

LULAC and Univision Partner Up to Educate Community about the Common Core State Standards

This month, Univision and LULAC National announced their collaboration to help inform the community about the Common Core State Standards. Led by national Univision anchor, Teresa Rodriguez, Univision will air a one-hour segment on August 24th across its national network featuring teachers, parents, and community advocates discussing the topic of Common Core State Standards. LULAC Watch Parties are planned in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Miami, Florida.


Save the Date – Save the Date – Save the Date

LULAC National Weighs-In on the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

Recently, the House of Representatives moved forward with H.R. 5, The Student Success Act, legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, LULAC sent several letters to House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline and Ranking Member George Miller, expressing opposition to H.R. 5 and support for a substitute amendment.

LULAC also sent Members of Congress specific vote recommendationson various amendments being considered on the floor of the House on H.R. 5. Of particular concern for LULAC was ensuring strong subgroup accountability provisions and strengthening funding streams for ELLs, migrant students, and other under-served groups. Read the letter here.

In addition, as a co-chair of the Hispanic Education Coalition (HEC), an organization that unites more than 20 organizations dedicated to improving educational opportunities and outcomes for the more than 54 million Hispanics living in the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC along with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) also issued a joint letter to the House of Representatives expressing opposition to H.R. 5, the Student Success Act. Read a copy of the HEC letter.

The Hispanic Education Coalition also weighed in with the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in support of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 2013. Read a copy of the HEC WIA letter.

Spotlight on LULAC's State Advocacy

LULAC Convenes Special Meeting with Florida Education State Director and Education Committee to Discuss Common Core State Standards, Other Education Efforts

LULAC education advocates, including Lydia Medrano, LULAC Florida State Director, local LULAC Council Directors, and other LULAC Education Committee members, met in Miami, Florida last month to discuss, among other things, the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Florida. LULAC members in Florida discussed ways to help inform the community regarding the implementation of the CCSS and keep working to ensure that the voices and concerns of the Latino community are addressed as Florida moves forward with the CCSS. In addition, LULAC National along with LULAC Florida’s leadership has requested a meeting with Florida Governor Rick Scott to discuss the implementation of the CCSS in the Sunshine State.

Thanks to the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, LULAC National’s education policy team has been able to work with local councils to inform the community about the implementation of Common Core State Standards. To learn more about these critical issues and coalitions visit our LULAC education policy webpage.

For more information about the meeting and to help with future townhalls/listening sessions, or other events in Florida, please contact Luis Torres. Learn more about Florida’s Common Core State Standard’s implementation plan.


LULAC National Continues Common Core State Standards Work New Mexico

Following a successful meeting with New Mexico Governor Susanna Martinez a couple of weeks ago, LULAC National has continued to work with education advocates in New Mexico to educate the Latino community on the Common Core State Standards. LULAC and the Office of the Governor in New Mexico are coordinating two events:

  1. “Materials Review Day” on August 9th at 12 PM EST that would allow LULAC parents to serve as part of a focus group-type event to read and provide feedback on the various CCSS materials being developed by the State of New Mexico
  2. “Communications Education Leader Cadre” meeting on August 12th to bring together education stakeholders interested in working on CCSS issues, like LULAC, the NIEA, and others in New Mexico, to coordinate CCSS communication efforts in that state.

For more information about these upcoming events, please contact Luis Torres.

Learn more about New Mexico’s Common Core State Standard’s implementation plan.

LULAC National Focused on ESEA Waivers, Common Core State Standards, Effective Teaching, and Data Models

Through workshops at conventions and events, community trainings and presentations, media outreach, and bilingual literature, LULAC has leveraged the support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to help advance the interests of Latino children. In addition, LULAC is also a member various coalitions including the Campaign for High School Equity and a co-chair of the Hispanic Education Coalition, who also work to advance the interests of under-served children across the country. Learn more about these critical issues and coalitions on our LULAC education policy webpage.



LULAC Sends Letter to PARCC Requesting Spanish Language Version of CCSS-Aligned Assessment

Recently, LULAC sent a letter to the PARCC Governing Board and Achieve, Inc. expressing the need for a Spanish language version of the CCSS-aligned assessment. PARCC is meeting this week in Washington, D.C. to discuss various issues. LULAC is managing CCSS education campaigns in New Mexico and Florida, both states serving large numbers of Latino and ELL students.

Important Announcement for Student Loans

The Department of Education announced that beginning with the 2014-2015 federal student aid form, it will – for the first time – collect income and other information from a dependent student’s legal parents regardless of the parents’ marital status or gender, if those parents live together. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
will provide a new option for dependent applicants to describe their parents’ marital status as “unmarried and both parents living together.” Additionally, where appropriate, the new FAFSA will use terms like “Parent 1” and “Parent 2” instead of gender-specific terms such as “mother” and “father.” Read more here.