Dignity in Schools Campaign members took Capitol Hill by storm this week. Torrential rain, long days and an early end to the Congressional session were nothing in the face of the fire and commitment of the thirty six students, parents, and advocates that spent Wednesday and Thursday meeting with policy makers key to the reauthorization of the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" (ESEA), formerly No Child Left Behind.

DSC delegations from California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Mississippi and New York shared their stories of school pushout and urged their Representatives take action on DSC’s four recommendations for incorporating school discipline issues into the draft bill.

Highlights from Wednesday included youth member Raheem Gladney facilitating a discussion of ESEA with David Johns, Senior Education Policy Advisor to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where Israt Jahan Issu ( Desis Rising Up and Moving New York City) laid out compelling arguments for increased funding for positive alternatives to exclusionary discipline, especially in her home school district, New York City, where millions of dollars go to maintaining a school police force larger than the actual police forces ofthose of Washington D.C., Detroit, Boston, and Las Vegas.

 Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools, welcomed a packed office of DSC members that afternoon.  Not to be outdone by New York, Chicago youth Brittany Cannon of Blocks Together made sure Jennings came away remembering that he can’t do his job right without seeking student and parent perspectives on the way their schools handle discipline.

After a busy first day on the hill, the DSC team headed back to the day's home base at the Children’s Defense Fund for a working dinner. And just when things were rapping up, Representative Bobby Scott (D - VA), long time champion of youth and students rights, dropped in for a surprise visit. A fitting end to a long day of hard and exciting work.