The Wrong Path: Washington’s Budget Keeps Shortchanging Children https://brucelesley.substack.com/p/the-wrong-path-washingtons-budget?r=f8l9&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Posamentier & Adams: The result could be more chaotic kindergarten classes and diminished social readiness that will extend to HS and beyond.

For the Children, Why Washington State Voters Should Vote NO on Initiative 001…

Read First Focus on Children's press release at the link below. It links to our brief at the end. #KidsFirst #ProtectChildren #AllMeansAll @brucelesley.bsky.social…

When ‘Parental Rights’ Means Letting a Child Die https://brucelesley.substack.com/p/when-parental-rights-means-letting?r=f8l9&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

An issue brief from Report for Youth Justice synthesizing six recent studies on what teens and young adults say about news coverage of young people — and seven steps newsrooms can take.

Thank you to @brucelesley.bsky.social at @firstfocus.bsky.social for this great commentary on the Trump admin's latest attack on babies/unborn children. "Apply the One Question — “is it good for the…

Parental Rights Bills Forgot Children Have Rights, Too https://brucelesley.substack.com/p/parental-rights-bills-forgot-children?r=f8l9&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web A useful…

August 11, 2026

The American people do not believe that children should be sick, in pain, or without preventive care like vaccinations and annual check-ups based on the wealth of a child’s parents, their zip code,…

As private schools proliferate, states are choosing a hands-off approach to regulating them. The backgrounds of school founders — sometimes with criminal histories — often don’t matter

Today, I’m introducing MediKids – guaranteed healthcare for every child no matter where they live or how much their parents make. The concept is simple: Every kid deserves to be happy and healthy.…

The 1997 Flores ruling requires immigrant children be released from detention after 20 days. Trump is keeping some for as long as 323 days, new filings in a lawsuit state.

Comments on OMB's proposed grants rule close July 13. Here's why First Focus on Children is urging the Administration to withdraw it.

Students across the country could lose access to free school meals, forcing the typical family with two children to spend $1,900 to $2,200 more per year for school meals.

Texas lawmakers need to change policies to improve the lives of children, according to a recently released report.

Our research shows that school closures disproportionately impact Black students and those from low-income communities.

A residential treatment center in Missouri advertises to adoptive parents that it can help heal struggling children.

School officers across the state turned to heavy-handed tactics on children, often in response to minor misbehavior, our investigation shows.

Lawmakers increasingly view disciplinary alternative programs as a solution to behavior problems. Critics say they harm students.

"The framing of homeschooling as entirely beyond public accountability is harmful to children." Grateful for @brucelesley.bsky.social's discussion of homeschooling in this piece.…

Children Are Not Property: The Case for Children’s Fundamental Rights…

“Convenient mythologies require neither evidence nor logic.” — Edward S. Herman, “Manufactured Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media” In a number of articles on its website, PEN America…

New data shows more nonfiction and LGBTQ+ titles targeted in book bans across the U.S.

Rx Kids, a community-wide cash prescription program for pregnant women and new parents that began in Flint, Michigan, was associated with a major drop in investigations of child maltreatment in…

Today’s “parental rights” absolutism is actually a departure from the country’s constitutional history and tradition.

The bill, which had recieved initial approval, failed to gain the required amount of votes to head to the Senate.

One of seven reasons for optimism: “The evidence base for investing in children has never been stronger.” [contains quote post or other embedded content]

BruceLesley.bsky.social and I on Chiles v. Salazar. TLDR: the SCOTUS majority got this very, very wrong. But Colorado can still win at trial. Don't sleep on that. [contains quote post or other…

Congressional Republicans appear ready to put SNAP benefits even MORE at risk for kids and their families for the next 10 years, in order to pay for ONE HOUR of war in Iran. I wish I were making this…

House and Senate Democrats are holding a forum to highlight the American children who have been caught up in the government's immigration dragnet, with some being handcuffed, held at gunpoint, or…

Unable to sleep and concentrate on school, teens say they are increasingly anxious — and have trouble planning for the future.

I entered this profession just as the storm clouds of the current book-banning push were starting to gather; now I’m in the middle of it.

The state of our nation’s children is dire: homelessness is rising rapidly among infants and toddlers, child poverty has nearly tripled in recent years,

Punishing Children: Why the Attack on Plyler v. Doe Is an Attack on America’s Core Values…

Rome News-Tribune a daily newspaper in Rome, Georgia which covers news in Rome and surrounding communities.

Kansas is the only state where eligibility for the Children's Health Insurance Program is tied to income levels from 2008

Another critical piece by @brucelesley.bsky.social on why #birthrightcitizenship is so critical for all our babies!…

The children are the future, but we are not forward-thinking. [contains quote post or other embedded content]

A recent report found that just 1.59% of federal spending in 2025 supported children under 3 — down 20% since 2021 — and deeper cuts may be looming.