HOUSTON – Rev. Girien Salazar, Deputy Director of The Faith and Education Coalition (FEC) of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) – the largest Hispanic Christians Organization in the United States and throughout the Spanish-speaking diaspora –  issues the following statement in reaction to the listening session held at the White House with those affected by school violence: 

“Yesterday’s listening session at the White House was a powerful turning point in the national conversation about school safety. The Faith and Education Coalition advocates for all students to have the opportunity to receive a high quality education, regardless of race, income, or ZIP Code. But how can a child learn when they fear for their own lives at school? Our students’ safety is foundational, and all other issues flow from this initial requirement. 

“We also don’t believe school violence should devolve into yet another partisan issue. Our children are too important and all sides should support protecting our students. We at the FEC are heartened by President Trump’s willingness to hear all viewpoints and his promise to take meaningful action, even some aspects of which might historically go against his own party’s platform. We support creative, collaborative solutions and ideas, regardless of where those ideas originate.  

“The time is now to take meaningful, multi-pronged steps towards securing our schools. We pray that our nation will have courage to do what is necessary to end violence against our students.” 

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NHCLC/CONEL is the world’s largest Hispanic Christian organization. It serves as a representative voice for the more than 100 million Hispanic Evangelicals assembled in over 40,000 U.S. churches and another 500,000 congregations spread throughout the Spanish-speaking diaspora. For additional information, visit www.nhclc.org.

Faith and Education Coalition is an initiative of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC). With 2,568 members representing almost 3,000 local churches in 44 states, the Faith and Education Coalition advocates to ensure every child in America has access to high-quality education.

Website | www.faithandeducation.com