Greetings DSC Members and Allies!

As the new year begins, we want to recognize all the hard work of our members in 2014 which led to many local victories and helped our campaign grow to include 92 members in 24 states! Last year we had an amazing National Week of Action with over 100 events in 50 cities and are excited to share our 2014 Week of Action Highlights video below, along with updates about our federal work. If you have local campaign updates, events, or resources you would like to share through our e-newsletter please email us!

NATIONAL UPDATES

From October 4-11, 2014, across the country our members delivered the message that we will not rest until every student receives a quality education that allows them to reach their full potential. Our 2014 National Week of Action Against School Pushout captured the power of the movement to end school pushout as students, parents, educators and advocates in 50 cities declared Education is the Key! Don't Lock Us Out!

Watch and share our highlights video featuring photos and video clips from events around the country that took place during our largest Week of Action yet. It's a great tool to recruit others to join your events this year! Visit our Youtube page to watch the video.

Following a meeting in November with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, DSC launched an online petition calling for the end of the 1033 Program's lending of military weapons to law enforcement agencies serving K-12 public schools. DSC's work centers around ending school pushout and the criminalization of youth on school grounds, which fuel the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Increased police presence and the reliance on School Resource Officers in discipline matters have contributed to discipline disparities for students of color and increased referrals of students to the juvenile justice system, most often for minor offenses. The lending of military weapons to law enforcement agencies that operate in schools is yet another example of the criminalization of our young people.

We urge you as allies in this movement to sign-on to the petition here and to share it with your networks. Our deadline for this petition is January 31, 2015.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the historic release of the federal Joint Guidance on School Discipline from the Departments of Education and Justice. This Joint Guidance describes how schools can meet their obligations under federal law to administer discipline in non-discriminatory ways. It puts schools on notice of possible consequences (including possible civil rights investigations) of continuing discriminatory discipline practices that disproportionately push students of color out of school and into the juvenile justice system.

Recent data show that African American students are expelled and suspended at three times the rate of their white peers, despite research showing that they do not misbehave more frequently than their white peers. The data also show disproportionate rates of arrests and referrals of students of color to law enforcement.

Many DSC member organizations, including parent, student, and teacher community-based groups worked tirelessly to advocate for this Guidance and are using it to support their local campaigns. For example, members in Wake County, NC and San Francisco, CA released School Discipline Assessments of their districts that compared the new federal School Discipline Guidance with local school district policies. You can do the same comparison using the Federal Guidance Assessment Tool found here. Read DSC's full blog post on the anniversary here.

Across the country, DSC members have continued to participate in actions demanding an end to police brutality and the policing of our schools. Read a recent DSC blog post here and visit Ferguson Action to learn about upcoming actions.

Petition to Stop Fines for BART Protestors

Sign a petition from Color of Change to demand an end to the criminalization and intimidation of the Black Friday 14 who are facing a $70,000 fine and misdemeanors for fighting for their right to live without police violence. If enough people sign-on to this petition, we have a chance at moving The Bay Area BART to drop this outrageous fine. It will only take a moment and every voice makes a difference! #BlackLivesMatter #BlackFriday14 #NotOneDime #WeAlreadyPaidWithOurLives

Actions Around MLK Day

Jan 15th: #PledgeOfResistance
On Dr. King�s birthday join communities across the country to publicly announce the �Year of Resistance & Resilience� at City Halls, Police Departments, and town Squares around the country. Walk out and deliver the �Movement Statement of Resistance to State Violence� at the doors of power. Link to Statement: http://fergusonaction.com/movement/

Jan 18th: #DayOfResilience
After more than 150 days of direct action, communities will take a day of reflection, healing, learning and spirit. Healers, people of faith, educators and others will ground this day in practices that lift our spirits, remind us of our history, ease our minds, and prepare our bodies for the long road ahead.

Jan 19th Day of Action - #WWMLKD
On MLK day, do as Martin Luther King would have done and resist the war on Black Lives with civil disobedience and direct action. Take the streets, #shutitdown, walk, march, take action!

STAFF UPDATES

At the beginning of the year, DSC Field Organizer, Fernando Martinez, joined Advocates for Equity in Education in Henrico, VA in a day of campaign planning.

Some of the key areas of work were around developing their organizational structure, type of leadership circle and campaign strategies for 2015.