This year, Student Task Force at Van Nuys is focusing on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, often called the UNCRC. We’re using it to start conversations about what respecting students’ rights looks like in our school community.
What is the UNCRC?
The Convention is an international human rights treaty about children. It recognizes children as people with rights of their own, including opportunities to learn, develop, be protected from harm, and take part in decisions that affect them.
Its four guiding principles are:
- Equal treatment: children’s rights apply without discrimination.
- Children’s best interests: decisions concerning children should take their best interests into account.
- Life and development: children should have the opportunity to survive and develop.
- Being heard: children should be able to express their views on matters affecting them, and those views should be taken seriously.
Why talk about this at school?
School is where we spend much of our time learning, building relationships, and preparing for the future. It’s also where we can ask practical questions: Can every student participate? Whose voices are missing from a conversation? What would make our campus more welcoming?
These questions connect our annual topic to everyday student experiences. They also give us a starting point for discussing the Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.
How to get involved
Bring an idea, a question, or an experience to a club meeting. You can also vote in our homepage polls to help choose the issues we discuss next. We meet Fridays in Room 325 at lunch.
Follow our SBRR progress to see the work so far. Our school and district advocacy is about putting these principles into practice; it is separate from a country formally ratifying an international treaty.