We are now accepting nominations for the 2014 Children’s Defense Fund’s Beat the Odds® Scholarship program! 

The CDF Beat the Odds Scholarship program will honor ten outstanding high school sophomores in Los Angeles who have overcome adversity to excel in school and as leaders in their communities. Of those students selected to participate, five finalists will receive a $10,000 college scholarship, and the remaining semi-finalists will each receive $1,000 to put towards their college expenses. A suite of college readiness and personal development opportunities will be available to all honorees for the duration of their college career, including intensive SAT preparation, one-on-one college counseling, leadership development, college tours, and career counseling. Learn more »

To nominate a deserving student, complete the 2014 CDF Beat the Odds Scholarship application packet and email a scanned .pdf copy to Joanna Flores at cdfca@childrensdefense.org. You can also fax or mail the application using the information enclosed in the packet. We also ask that you please share this opportunity with those in your Los Angeles networks in a position to nominate a student.

All applications are due by 5:00PM on Friday, February 14th 2014. If you have any additional questions or concerns, contact Joanna Flores at cdfca@childrensdefense.org.

Mission Accomplished!

On Monday afternoon, Governor Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 549 – ending in victory many months of tireless advocacy in Sacramento and all around the state. Huge shoutout to all of you who took the time to attend committee hearings, send letters and emails, and make phone calls. We couldn’t have done it without you!

The broad support AB 549 received signals an important shift in how we as a state are thinking about school safety. The bill, which encourages school districts to hire more school counselors and train teachers to use positive discipline practices before police officers, builds upon the growing awareness that what our students need to be safe are school climates that emphasize strong bonds between students and teachers, common sense discipline policies that keep students accountable and in the classroom, and early intervention and mental health care services that get at the root cause of student behavior. Learn more about AB 549 and our other policy priorities »

Transportation is an Educational Right!

Youth in Los Angeles are bringing their voices to the Fourth Annual Week of Action on School Pushout by demanding that L.A. County provide students a free and safe passage to and from school. All week, youth will be surveying students on their transportation struggles and their experiences with police on public transportation. The surveys will be used to launch an L.A. County campaign to win free Metro passes for all students attending kindergarten through college. Learn more and share this short survey »

The Week of Action on School Pushout is being coordinated by the Dignity in Schools Campaign, a national coalition of more than 70 organizations led by youth, parents, educators, civil rights leaders and social justice advocates that promote alternatives to zero-tolerance discipline policies. Learn more and get involved »

We Moved!

We are excited to announce that the Southern California office of the Children’s Defense Fund – California has moved to downtown Los Angeles! Our new office on the fifth floor of the historic MALDEF building, located at 634 South Spring Street, suite 500C. Make sure to update your contact lists - and definitely stop by to check out our new place!