Article 18:“Parents, or as the case may be, legal guardians, have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child. The best interests of the child will be their basic concern.”

Article 28:“States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and . . . they shall, in particular make primary education compulsory and available free to all; make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means; take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates.”

Article 29:“States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to … [t]he preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of … equality of the sexes ….”

Article 32:“States Parties shall take legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to . . . Provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment; Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of employment; Provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective enforcement of the present article.”

Article 34:“States Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse . . . States Parties shall in particular take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity; the exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices; the exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials.”

Article 38:“States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure that persons who have not attained the age of fifteen years do not take a direct part in hostilities . . . [and] refrain from recruiting any person who has not attained the age of fifteen years into their armed forces . . . States Parties shall take all feasible measures to ensure protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict.”

Article 29:“States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to the development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential; … the development of respect for the child's …own cultural identity, language and values….”

• The United States ranks:

• 11th in fourth-grade math• 9th in eighth-grade math• 7th in fourth-grade science• 10th in eighth-grade science

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, SAT Report on College and Career Readiness 2012

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, SAT Report on College and Career Readiness 2012

• In 2011, 19% of Black youth and 18% of Hispanic youth, as compared with 12% of Whites, were neither enrolled in school nor working.

• Black students are three times as likely as whites to be suspended.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, SAT Report on College and Career Readiness 2012

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Child Trends Data Bank

• Approximately 49.9 million students were enrolled in U.S. public schools in the 2007-2008 academic year. Of them, 10.7%, or more than 5.3 million children, were English language learners (ELLs).

• 77.2% of ELL students speak Spanish.

Source: Migration Policy Institute

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

• Among the poor, 24.7% of young people were neither enrolled in school nor working in 2011 as compared with 11% of the non-white poor.

• The gap in 8th grade scores between students attending low-poverty and high-poverty schools was 36 points in math and 32 points in reading, even higher than score gaps between whites and racial minorities.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Young Women’s Leadership Schools

Eagle Academies for Young Men

ACLU Opposition: “Teach Kids, Not Stereotypes” Initiative

No Child Left Behind Act – 2002 to 2007

Blueprint for Reform - 2010

Department of Education Waivers

1. How can we spread the word to encourage others to sign the petition to the President and push the Senate to ratify the UNCRC? 2. How might we pressure Congress to revisit and revise the NCLB in view of the many criticisms leveled against it? 3. What policies need to be put in place at the national and state levels to more effectively close the racial and poverty gaps in educational achievement?