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The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, professional development organization that provides learning opportunities for policy leaders, practitioners, and researchers working on education, youth, and workforce policy at the national, state, and local levels.

Youth Council Microsite

Checkout AYPF’s Youth Council Microsite!

Our youth-focused page features a variety of empowering resources for youth with experiences in the juvenile-justice and foster-care systems.

School Discipline Disparities Info Hub

View AYPF’s New School Discipline Disparities Info Hub!

This information hub—divided into research, policy, and practice—outlines problems with school climate and highlights evidence-based solutions and alternatives to practices embedded in traditional school discipline systems that cause immeasurable harms.

Do you work or volunteer with youth? Take this survey today! You’ll contribute to a national effort to explore, define, and elevate the youth fields workforce and their essential work with youth. If we know more, we can do more to support the youth fields workforce to thrive!

Power of Us Workforce Survey

A Message Regarding COVID-19

COVID-19 Response Information Hub

The AYPF Board and Staff, to ensure the safety and well-being of our staff, have moved from our Dupont Circle offices and will continue to work remotely, indefinitely. We will continue our efforts to be a trusted resource, and thank you in advance for supporting youth marginalized by systemic inequities. Visit our COVID-19 Response Information Hub for COVID-related resources, organized by youth population and supports for parents.

Upcoming Events

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Topic Areas

AYPF has wide-ranging expertise in a myriad of education, youth, and workforce policy topics.  To gain a more comprehensive view of our focus areas, click on the following topics:

Afterschool and Out-of- School Time Learning
College and Career Readiness and Success
Research Evidence in Policymaking
Learning and Teaching Strategies
System Strategies and Approaches

Photos Courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education:
Images of Teachers and Students in Action

Youth Populations

AYPF focuses on improving policies and practices that impact youth marginalized by systemic inequities, ages 14 – 25. This includes youth who are in school and those who have left school and are not in education, training, or the workforce. To gain a more comprehensive view about the youth at the center of our work, click on a highlighted population.

English Language Learners
First-Generation College Students
Justice-Involved Youth
Opportunity Youth
Rural Populations
Youth Experiencing Homelessness
Youth in Foster Care
Youth with (Dis)abilities

Policies & Legislation

AYPF analyzes certain federal laws to understand how they affect youth marginalized by systemic inequities and how they enable or constrain states and communities in effectively and equitably serving these youth. As a nonpartisan organization, we do not lobby or take positions on legislation, but rather educate and inform policymakers about opportunities to improve youth policy and practice. Click on an icon to learn more about the policies and legislation at the center of our work. 

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
Carl D. Perkins Act
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Higher Education Act (HEA)
State-Level Policies

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