Policy & Advocacy
We build upon our direct work with our Scholars to drive policies that accelerate the economic
and social mobility of parenting college students and their families nationwide.
As an advocate and activist, Generation Hope elevates the experiences of teen/student parents at the intersection of race and education to pursue national and local policy change. We believe in the power of teen/student parents — including teen/student parents of color — and know that they are the best advocates for themselves and those similarly positioned. To that end, Generation Hope will deploy, support, and lean on teen/student parents as subject matter experts as we seek to eliminate, modify, and create public policies that best support them. We will illuminate the challenges facing student parents, centering and power-building with them and other stakeholders. We will engage in advocacy that recognizes student parents’ tremendous assets and strengths as well as the intersectionality of their experiences including race, ethnicity, immigration status, socioeconomic status, gender identity, and more.
Find out how Generation Hope is taking action for student parents regionally and nationally in 2024.
Our Policy Priorities
Higher Education
Generation Hope focuses on reducing the financial hurdles to earning a post-secondary credential; creating educational opportunities by establishing more family-friendly campuses; and increasing awareness of the experiences of parenting college students.
Quality Childcare
Generation Hope focuses on increasing affordability of childcare that meets families’ needs and reducing barriers to accessing quality childcare supports.
Economic Mobility
Generation Hope focuses on connecting college coursework to public benefit programs; removing barriers to post-secondary completion for fathers to advance in the workforce; and expanding career pathways and access to family-sustaining wages.
Explore our 2024 National and State Policy and Advocacy Agenda
Each year, Generation Hope creates a National and State Policy and Advocacy Agenda to accompany our overarching policy priorities curated from student parents’ lived experiences, research, and our direct work with families. We outline the actions we will take to reach our goals, centering student-parent voices and experiences every step of the way. In 2024, we are committed to furthering our impact nationwide and within states, and the District of Columbia, by engaging in policy and advocacy work to support student parent success. We do this in partnership with student parents and policy leaders across the country.
Join Us
Generation Hope is moving the needle on student parent educational equity, expanding into policy and advocacy efforts that impact young mothers and fathers and student parents nationwide.
Against the backdrop of the nation's capital, our policy priorities are local and national in scope and consider the challenges faced by rural and urban student parents alike. Through this work, we aim to increase our impact on the educational landscape, creating stronger institutional, local, state, and federal policies that center the needs of student parents.
This advocacy work centers and is powered by our incredible community. Join us in calling for policy change that will make a difference for student parents and their families. Sign up to learn about opportunities to advocate for parenting students across the country.
Select “Policy & Advocacy” under “Get Involved.”
Download Our
Policy & Advocacy Priorities
Other Resources
If you have questions about Generation Hope’s policy work, please contact us at policy@generationhope.org.