Follow Student Parents’ Lead on the Path to Meaningful Impact

By

Nia Ariel Davis Sigona

"There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives." In a speech over four decades ago, Audre Lorde articulated a fundamental truth about policy change: it is intersectional and complex. Social systems intersect throughout people's lives, and there is no one right answer or single all-inclusive strategy toward meaningful change.

Audre Lorde was not specifically talking about college students who balance school with caregiving when she delivered this quote, but she could have been. There is no single issue preventing many student parents from realizing their educational dreams, therefore there is no single solution. There are multiple. And the best way to assess and prioritize policy solutions for student parent success is to center student parents themselves as co-collaborators.

First, gather your energy.

Meaningful policy change to support student parent success is possible, but it requires a connected village of stakeholders to coordinate toward meaningful impact. Working in a coalition can unite the multiple perspectives, expertise, resources, and methods necessary to make real change in the systems that interlace throughout student parents' lives.

Multiple solutions mean multiple constraints, however. In the real world of policymaking, priorities are dictated by competing timelines, limited resources, fluctuating political will, and more. Coalitions for policy change all face the integral question of how best to focus their collective energy, given the pull of multiple goals and the push of multiple pressures.

Next, clarify your vision of impact.

A shared vision becomes the north star that coalitions use to coordinate their activities. Effective coalitions translate this vision into a set of priorities directing their efforts to advance policy solutions. So the question becomes, what policy solutions should coalitions prioritize when creating systemic change for student parents? What does success look like? What impact would actually be meaningful?

Student parents themselves have the strongest answers to these questions. Living in the intersections of so many systems, often at the margins, student parents have unique and extremely valuable expertise.

National data show that about one in five students enrolled in undergraduate programs are student parents. Those numbers don't account for the many parents who may have had to pause pursuing their degrees or who may not have been able to start at all. A majority of student parents identify as women or students of color, particularly Black and Latina students. Nearly half of student parents are connected to the military. Over half of student mothers work part-time. A majority of student parents report food and/or housing insecurity.

Student parents navigate the reality of multiple systems, and therefore have a robust understanding of the support needed to hurdle roadblocks on their paths to success. They know what would make the most difference in their lives and what to prioritize for the most meaningful impact.

All the while, center student parents.

Centering student parents' priorities is worth it, not just because of the change it would make in their lives, but also because of the ripples of impact throughout entire ecosystems of policy and practice. A student parent who earns their degree or credential is likely to increase both their income and their child's potential future income. Advancing policy solutions for student parents benefits multiple populations. When student parents live in a world where systems of child care, financial aid, transportation, and public benefits are responsive to the reality of their needs, so do we all.

Centering student parents' priorities can be very difficult in practice. however. The day-to-day whirlwind of parenting, attending school, and overall adulting leaves very little time to assess policy proposals and engage in advocacy efforts. In the crush to advance policy solutions, student parents' actual voices often get substituted with numbers or second-hand narratives. As Dana Weekes previously noted, this can lead to unintentionally gatekeeping student parents from policy conversations and missing the opportunity to co-collaborate instead..

Centering student parents in policy change requires supporting their active participation. It requires co-collaboration, which requires a healthy investment of time and resources. But the impact of that investment is worth it. To invite student parents into the work as co-collaborators, there are many meaningful steps that coalitions can take:

• Develop and advance policy solutions that are responsive to students' firsthand experiences.
• Regard student parents as the experts they are and pay them for their expertise.
• Sharpen their advocacy skills; provide education and training in federal and state policymaking.
• Equip them with the necessary tools to connect with policymakers. Include their participation in decision-making rooms.

When coalitions focus their collective energy, they can powerfully advance solutions that truly impact student parents' lives. Policy change is intersectional and complex, but the path forward can be clear. Follow student parents' lead.