| DENVER — Millions of American students, from preschool through graduate school, start their fall term in late summer. To help students, parents, teachers and staff make the 2024-25 school year easier and more rewarding, PIRG’s and Environment America’s experts have compiled advice on a variety of consumer and environmentally conscious topics. Each of the experts listed below is available for interviews as well. |
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| Teresa Murray, [email protected], is the director of PIRG’s Consumer Watchdog program. She has written or overseen reports and analyses on topics including price gouging during emergencies, toxic consumer products and scams targeting consumers. She’s passionate about educating people about predatory tactics they may face when they’re vulnerable. Prior to joining PIRG in 2020, Teresa worked as a business journalist and consumer columnist for more than 20 years for Ohio’s largest daily newspaper. Her work with PIRG has been featured by media outlets including CNN, NPR, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. |
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| Lucas Gutterman, [email protected], is the director of PIRG’s Designed to Last program. In that capacity he holds tech companies (such as Google) accountable for the forced obsolescence of their products (such as Chromebooks) and the ensuing e-waste. His work has prompted concrete policy changes that extend electronic consumer product lifespans and hold manufacturers accountable for coercing consumers into upgrading or disposing of their devices. Lucas has appeared on ABC News and in the Wall Street Journal and several other major national tech and general news outlets. |
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- FAQ: Google announced 10 years of software updates for Chromebooks — Until recently, Google would stop offering tech support for Chromebooks after just a few years — regardless of how well they still worked — at a point tech experts call a “death date.” In response to our campaign, Google has committed to 10-year lifespans for Chromebooks, the laptops that so many school districts purchase for and give to their students.
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| Artificial intelligence (AI) advice: |
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| R.J. Cross, [email protected], runs PIRG’s Don’t Sell My Data program. She focuses on data privacy issues and the commercialization of personal data in the digital age. Her work ranges from consumer harms such as scams and data breaches, to manipulative targeted advertising, to keeping kids safe online. She has appeared on CBS News and in numerous major national online and print outlets.
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| College textbook and course materials advice: |
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| Dan (prono: Dawn) Xie, [email protected], is the political director for the Student PIRGs, student-run organizations on dozens of campuses. Dan is working with college students coast-to-coast to encourage the U.S. Department of Education to reform the broken textbook market, where the default is often to automatically charge students for course materials at a set price, whether that’s a good deal for them or not. |
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- NEW TIP GUIDE FOR PARENTS, STUDENTS: How to save money on textbooks this new school year — Publishers, colleges and bookstores claim “automatic textbook billing” or “inclusive access” programs save students money. But textbook and course material prices have increased at three times the rate of inflation since 1978. Publishers now bundle online access codes with required homework assignments, thereby reducing both student choice and market competition. This guide will help parents and students navigate this byzantine system.
- REPORT: Automatic Textbook Billing: Limited Choice, Uncertain Savings — Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education proposed a regulatory change that would give students the right to “opt in” to textbook and course material charges, rather than being billed on their tuition invoices without their affirmative consent. This proposed policy would empower students, provide greater consumer choice and improve transparency. However, the Biden administration has not fully committed to following through on this proposal. This report makes the case that the Education Department should make its proposal a rule.
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| Environmentally conscious back-to-school advice: |
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| Celeste Meiffren-Swango, [email protected], runs Environment America’s Beyond Plastics campaign. She and her team have worked on awareness — and regulation — of the dangers of microplastics, single-use plastics and waste in the fashion industry. She is also the author of the children’s book, Myrtle the Turtle, which empowers kids to prevent plastic pollution. Celeste’s work to reduce plastic has been covered by The Washington Post, Grist, E&E News and several other media outlets. |
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- Green schools guide –The best way to teach children to value our planet is by example. Parents, teachers, and mentors can be environmentalist role models in many ways, from pushing for political action on climate change to buying less stuff. Parents, teachers, staff and students can use this guide to get kids involved and to make their schools more eco-friendly. The guide shows schools how to reduce emissions and pollution from transportation and electricity, stop using toxics, waste less food and extend the life of school supplies.
- How to save money and cut down on waste while back-to-school shopping — From school supplies to new clothes, the average American family typically spends upwards of $600 per child on back-to-school needs. Not only does all this shopping have a cost to our pocketbooks, but it also has a cost for our environment. Despite what pervasive advertisements tell us, you have options that don’t involve buying all new school supplies and clothes every back-to-school season. Buying things secondhand or simply not buying things your kids don’t need can save money and also can help conserve precious natural resources.
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