$20,000 / Fall 2017
Boston, MA
www.youthonboard.org
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 organize and 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 included sweeping due process rights in suspension and expulsion procedures and guarantees students the right to alternative and restorative support. To support the implementation of the new policy, BSAC developed a mobile application for students, parents and school administrators to help inform stakeholders about discipline procedures, alternatives and students rights to due process. The application has been fully supported by Boston Public Schools and was updated in 2017 through a collaborative process with BSAC and the district to include Spanish translation, rights for immigrant and undocumented youth, information and support around hate crimes and a revised grievance form. BSAC also continues to play a leadership role fighting against privatization and public school budgets cuts and is actively working to incorporate student voice and experience into state implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act.