Education Initiatives

Youth Organizations Rally For Peace in Chicago

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Auburn Gresham High Schools (Perspectives, St. Leo, Robinson) march from their schools, to the corner of 79th and Racine to hold a Rally for Peace, celebrating I Care for Peace Week. Not because parents and teachers forced them to…because they care about restoring and maintaining peace in the community where they live and attend school.

Collins’ Proposes Law to Protect Student Privacy

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New technology means new issues for schools and educators to navigate. Social media can provide a forum for bullying, making threats and even planning or committing crimes. It is also a way many students today express themselves and communicate with their friends. House Bill 64, which I sponsored in the Senate, recognizes that primary and secondary schools, as well as universities, need to strike a balance between respecting students’ privacy online and enforcing school rules. This legislation prohibits colleges and universities from requiring students to reveal their passwords or give them access to their accounts. However, a school may require a student to furnish his or her password if administrators suspect the social media account contains evidence of a rules violation. K-12 schools must notify parents of the circumstances under which they are authorized to access students’ social media accounts.