$15,000 / 2016
Boston, MA
Through its leadership development programming, community organizing training and personal support, Youth on Board (YOB) builds the capacity of primarily students of color to develop leadership and social emotional skills and provides them access to ways to build power in their schools, communities, and lives. The Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC) is the primary vehicle through which organizing happens at YOB. BSAC works on student rights, school discipline, student feedback and teacher evaluation as well as climate justice. After years of organizing by BSAC and its allies, Boston Schools in 2013 implemented a new Code of Conduct that includes sweeping due process rights in suspension and expulsion procedures and guarantees students the right to alternative and restorative support. BSAC also played a leading role in advocating for a 2014 amendment to Massachusetts law that requires schools to document that they have taken alternative disciplinary measures before resorting to out-of-school suspension or expulsion. Last year, through a coordinated strategy of walk-outs, walk-ins, testifying, and rallies, BSAC pushed the Mayor, City Council, and School Committee to stop the projected cut of millions of dollars in the Boston Public School budget. YOB will continue to fight for equitable education for all students in the district, dismantle the school to prison pipeline through restorative justice practices and support youth-led organizing for student rights in Boston and beyond.