UNITE-LA’s continued commitment to supporting student parents was highlighted at the Forging Equitable Futures for Student Parents convening on Sept. 5-6. The gathering convened California parenting students, elected officials, higher education personnel, policy advocates and nonprofits working toward equity for parenting college students. Assemblymember Berman, co-author of Assembly Bill 2458, discussed the impact of the bill with co-sponsors, which include UNITE-LA. The bill was signed into law in late September, expanding financial aid access for student parents and empowering colleges to better identify student parents on campus.

Dr. Lisa Catanzarite, UNITE-LA’s Vice President of Research and Evaluation, presented UNITE-LA’s original research on parenting students at L.A. County IHEs (the full report found here). UNITE-LA’s Adam Gottlieb, Director of Postsecondary Strategy and Policy, and Humberto Estratalan, Director of Public Policy, joined the convening, connecting with higher education and early childhood education colleagues and leveraging both areas of expertise to support parenting students and their childcare needs. This budding work has led to membership in the California Alliance for Parenting Student Success, of which our team attended a special meeting at the convening.

The convening, hosted by the Michelson 20 MM Foundation and the California Alliance for Parenting Student Success, where UNITE-LA is a member, was an  opportunity to meet with policy partners and discuss better strategies for student parents across the state. UNITE-LA looks forward to working with regional IHE partners to improve educational outcomes and the wellbeing of student parents with the passage of AB 2458.

For more information on our research, please reach out to Dr. Lisa Catanzarite, Vice President of Research and Evaluation at [email protected]. For more information on our policy priorities, please reach out to Adam Gottlieb, Director of Postsecondary Strategy & Policy at [email protected].