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Senate Select Committee on Violence in Schools & School Security. Summary of Oral Testimony of Morgan Craven, Texas Appleseed. OPENING EXCERPT: The recent school shootings in Parkland, Florida and Santa Fe, Texas, have lead to concerns from students, parents, and educators regarding campus safety issues. Unfortunately, some of the responses to these concerns have included bringing back harmful zero tolerance policies and increasing the presence of law enforcement in schools. While this might feel like an appropriate solution in the moment, research shows that these approaches can actually harm students and campus climates, rather than keep schools safe.
OPENING PARAGRAPH: Dear Mr. Turkel:
We appreciate the opportunity to provide the following comments on Harris
County’s Disaster Recovery Voluntary Buyout Program Guidelines for 2015, 2017,
and 2017 Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)
funds. We commend the County for proposing a buyout program that ensures that
families have the opportunity to move to safer areas, including incentives and other
necessary funding for LMI families that would otherwise be trapped in flood prone
areas. These guidelines outline a program that is more equitable, that will increase
both community and individual resilience, and is much more likely to accomplish
the goal of moving families out of harm’s way and reducing flood vulnerability than
previous buyout programs for other disasters.
OPENING PARAGRAPH: Dear Judge Emmett, We, the HOME (Houston Organizing Movement for Equity) Coalition, are pleased to have the opportunity to provide input into Harris County's Action Plan for the first allocation of CDBG-DR Hurricane Harvey funding. Like you, we are committed to an equitable recovery that accounts for the long history of racist policies and practices that have left, in particular, low-income Black and Brown neighborhoods underserved. The attached comments reflect the HOME Coalition’s commitment to equity and are consistent with issues and concerns brought up in conversations and community meetings with city officials over the eight months since Hurricane Harvey. Our coalition members bring a wealth of experience working on fair housing for renters and homeowners, sustainable jobs, environmental justice, and disaster recovery. Many of us worked with city, state and federal agencies in the wake of Hurricane Ike and other past disasters. But more importantly, we are community-based organizations that have been out knocking on doors, repairing homes, and organizing town hall meetings with families affected by Harvey.
Opening Paragraph:
Dear Governor Abbott,
Tragedies like the shooting at Santa Fe High School are traumatic and terrifying for the students, educators, and families who are directly impacted by the violence, and for the many people who care about young people. We, like you, are concerned with the safety and wellbeing of Texas students. Also like you, we want to make sure that all children in Texas schools receive an excellent education, are guided and supported by adults who care about them, and feel safe and secure when they enter the school building. Because we share these common and important goals, we write with concerns related to some of the proposals in your School and Firearm Safety Action Plan, and hope that you will reconsider some of the priorities you have identified for immediate funding.
Signed by: Texas Appleseed, Children’s Defense Fund—Texas, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., and MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund)
Pages
Criminal Discovery
Immigrant Children & Families
Mental Health
Debt Collection
Disaster Recovery & Fair Housing
Education Justice
Fair Financial Services
Fines & Fees
Foster Care & Courts
Homeless Youth
Insurance
Juvenile Justice
Other Issues
Payday & Auto Title Lending Reform
Protecting Seniors from Financial Abuse
Bail Reform & Pretrial Justice
Civil Asset Forfeiture
Coerced Debt
Criminal Justice