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By Christian Collins

The Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act, H.R.4312, is the culmination of a multiyear effort from colleges and universities to preserve an outdated and unjust economic system. Following the landmark House v. NCAA federal antitrust settlement, which brought roughly $2.8 billion in back damages to former college athletes from uncompensated labor and established the first revenue-sharing model for institutions to directly pay students for athletic labor, Congress is attempting to permanently wipe out those hard-fought gains. 

The SCORE Act conflates two distinct issues: the inequitable state of college athletics and the financial insecurity of institutions due to federal funding cuts. Taking rights away from students won’t solve either issue. This legislation is just an attempt by Congress to pass the blame from its own inaction onto students who are only seeking the right to be paid for their labor. 

Seeking to comprehensively address inequities in college athletics is no excuse to codify the greed of institutions into federal law. The SCORE Act doesn’t create a more equitable college athletics system; rather, in its current form, it contains multiple provisions that directly harm college students by preserving the ability of institutions to profit off them without fair compensation, including: 

The SCORE Act’s Narrow Perspective Will Have Widespread Consequences 

The bill’s primary objective is to deny college athletes basic federal labor protections and codify severe economic restrictions on current and future athletes that no other students on campus face. From smaller private schools that utilize athletic programs as an enrollment tool to large public universities that use athletics as public marketing and donor engagement opportunities, the labor of athletes extends far beyond their time on the field. Instead of providing additional protection for students from harassment and abuse brought by gamblers, preventing states from relying on gambling taxes to make up for larger federal funding shortfalls and fund athletic programs, and how institutions often spend more on coaching and staff compensation than on all financial aid for athletes, Congress has used the SCORE Act to prioritize allowing schools to pay their own students as little as legally possible. 

Concerningly, the authors of this bill failed to address the racialized impact it would have on marginalized students, especially Black men. The SCORE Act undercuts the notion that college athletics are a primary driver of socioeconomic mobility for young Black men, who represent majorities and pluralities of athletes competing in the highest revenue-generating sports (football and men’s basketball) across Divisions 1 and 2. This bill would codify academic institutions being able to reap billions in annual revenue from the uncompensated labor of Black students through a “plantation” economy, but not having to support their academic and professional development. 

The SCORE Act Would Protect Institutions from the Consequences of Exploiting Their Own Students 

Limiting the income potential of, and labor protections for, student workers on college campuses only signals that institutions care more about what money they can extract from students versus how they can best educate students. Institutions have made no complaints over the rampant revenue generation and athletics-related spending that they’ve embarked on for years, but are now begging Congress to stop athletes from receiving a fair share. 

The SCORE Act is an attempt by a small subset of universities to preserve an inequitable economic system due to pure greed. Members of Congress should oppose this legislation and instead work to advance policies that support students by crafting legislation that includes the following provisions:   

Other CLASP publications on the exploitation of Black male college athletes include: 

 

By Ela Jalil

(EXCERPT)

Christian Collins, a policy analyst for the Center for Law and Social Policy who focuses on post-secondary education, said that parking citations are just another financial barrier for students to overcome to get a degree.

Collins also noted that punishments like a hold on students’ accounts have a larger impact on low-income students who struggle to pay off their tickets, and warned against inequitable policies.

“If it’s coming at the cost of certain students effectively becoming barred from participating in education, educational opportunities and campus in general, then is it really the best design policy that you can offer?” Collins

Read article here.

Join philanthropic leaders, foundation program officers, policy officials, researchers, advocates, and community-based organizations for an interactive virtual discussion that will examine the role of philanthropy in advancing civil and human rights, racial and economic justice, and multiracial democracy in the face of political retrenchment, legal threats, and backlash.

Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the risks foundations face, explore practical strategies for values-aligned giving, and consider how to build authentic partnerships with nonprofits and community-led movements to resist authoritarianism and protect equity-driven progress.

REGISTER HERE

Featured Speakers:

Among the issues we will explore:

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Youth mobile response is a 24/7, police-free crisis intervention service designed to support young people and families in emotional or behavioral crises. Unlike the traditional “mobile crisis” model—which focuses mainly on youth with diagnosed psychiatric conditions—CLASP’s “mobile response” approach emphasizes youth-defined crises and support before, during, and after the critical moment. It is part of a broader crisis care continuum that includes crisis hotlines, stabilization centers, peer services, and short-term crisis residential options.

This publication was produced in collaboration between CLASP and the National Collaborative for Transformative Youth Policy.

>>Download the full report here.

 

 

This event has already happened. Please see the full recording below and learn more about the speakers. 

Join policy officials, researchers, advocates, and community-based organizations for a conversation exploring how attacks on DEIA are eroding democracy. In this discussion, gain a deeper understanding, apply practical tools, and build new relationships to confront these coordinated threats and advance cross-sector, equity-driven solutions.

Featured Speakers:

Among the issues we explored:

This statement can be attributed to Wendy Chun-Hoon, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) 

Washington, D.C., October 1, 2025 – After Congress failed to pass a budget for Fiscal Year 2026 by the September 30 deadline, the federal government has shut down. Budgets are moral documents, and Congress should be focused on funding the government in a way that supports children, workers, families, and communities across the country. This includes extending programs that continue to make health care affordable for millions and ensuring that children and families receive the assistance they’re eligible for and need to thrive. 

Voters across the country elect their Members of Congress and entrust them to do their jobs. The most basic function of Congress is to pass a budget each year. In a functioning government, this budget would be free from interference by a presidential administration. Instead, the administration is manufacturing chaos and dysfunction to continue to weaken the institutions families rely on to survive.  

As conversation and work continue around passing an agreement to fund the government, CLASP’s focus remains on communities being pushed to the margin, workers paid low wages, children, immigrants, communities of color, and people and families living on low incomes. Their safety, security, and well-being should not be held hostage by a dysfunctional government. 

Updated April 2, 2025, by Priya Pandey; Spanish version added September 2025 (see link below)

Originally published in 2019 by Rebecca Ullrich and updated in February 2022 by Alejandra Londono Gomez

Early childhood programs play an important role in the lives of young children and their families. But in our current political climate, families across the country are questioning whether it’s safe to attend or enroll.

In January 2025, the Trump Administration rescinded the Biden Administration’s guidelines for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection enforcement actions in certain “protected areas.” Immigration enforcement actions had previously been restricted at or near these locations, which include early childhood programs such as licensed child care, preschool, pre-kindergarten, and Head Start programs.

In response, we have updated “A Guide to Creating ‘Safe Space’ Policies for Early Childhood Programs,” which gives practitioners, advocates, and policymakers information and resources to design and implement “safe space” policies that safeguard early childhood programs against immigration enforcement, as well as protect families’ safety and privacy. The guide also includes sample policy text that early childhood providers can adapt for their programs.

Download English Version

Disponible en español aqui

EXCERPT from letter to the editor by Wendy Cervantes:

“Immigration actions cause long-lasting harm and trauma for children. That’s true whether the Department of Homeland Security separates families, as was the case in The Post’s story; removes them together and sends them back to potential harm, in some cases regardless of the children’s citizenship status; detains them together in inhumane conditions; or even reunites them after forced separation.”

Read letter to the editor here.

By Blake Ellis,Melanie Hicken, Anna-Maja Rappard and Kyung Lah 

(EXCERPT)

“It’s literally a kid’s worst nightmare having someone come take your parents in the middle of the night,” said Wendy Cervantes, a longtime immigration policy expert who has worked with Democratic and Republican lawmakers to help craft federal policies that protect the children of immigrants. “No matter the outcome, you are turning a kid’s life upside down.”

Read article here.

By Julian Aguilar

(EXCERPT)

Wendy Cervantes, the director of immigration and immigrant families at the Center for Law and Social Policy, said the administration can grant humanitarian parole under current law.

“Our laws allow for humanitarian parole for these exact reasons, to protect U.S. citizens who face hardship in cases where a family member has been deported or is barred from entering the country,” she said.

Read article here.