Contact Congress About Federal Teen Parent Access to Education Legislation

On July 28, U.S. Representative Jared Polis (D-CO) and 16 other members of Congress introduced the Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act (H.R. 5894). This is an extraordinary opportunity for Massachusetts to secure federal funding that is targeted at supporting pregnant and parenting teens' access to and success in education. The introduction of this legislation is a strong and heartening signal that our federal policymakers understand the importance and merit of supporting a population of youth too often overlooked and under-valued. Please see this fact sheet for more information on the legislation.

Your help is needed to garner support for this legislation! Please take the following action steps ASAP:

• Contact your U.S. Representative and ask him/her to co-sponsor the Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act (H.R. 5894) by clicking here.
• Contact U.S. Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown to urge them to introduce or co-sponsor companion legislation by clicking here.
• Email Liz Umbro at umbro@massteenpregnancy.org to sign-on to letters urging Massachusetts Representatives to co-sign the legislation and Senators Kerry and Brown to introduce or co-sponsor companion legislation in the Senate. Direct service, advocacy, and public organizations at the state and local levels are all invited to sign-on. You can read the sign-on letter to Senators here and the sign-on letter to Representatives here.

Pregnant and parenting teens have tremendous aspirations, but need access to the necessary supports to reach their potential! Please forward this alert far and wide and take the time to contact your federal representatives about this groundbreaking piece of legislation today.