November 5th 2pm PDT: Join Sheryll Cashin, author of the new book White Space, Black Hood, for a book talk followed by a conversation with john a. powell, director of the Othering & Belonging Institute.
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New Bill in New York Aims to Increase Accountability for Racial and Socioeconomic Integration in Schools
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Biden-Harris Admin Executive Order on White House Initiative for Black Americans
The Order notes the achievements of Black students, but also calls out the challenges they face. It then proposes a series of actions to address inequities, notably including “eliminating discriminatory enrollment, housing, transportation, and other policies that lead to racial and socioeconomic segregation among and within schools.”
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ORGANIZING FOR ANTI-RACIST, CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE SCHOOLS |
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State Senator Lewis' Sept. 28th webinar with the Coalition for Anti-Racism, Equity, and Justice in Education on the legislative effort. |
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State Legislative Update:
An Act Relative to Anti-Racism, Equity, and Justice in Education (S. 365 and H.584) in the Massachusetts legislature would create a commission and dedicated funding source for:
- Developing social justice/anti-racist curriculum;
- Recruiting and retaining teachers of color; and
- More mental health supports for students experiencing racism
Passage of the bills would establish Massachusetts as a defender of curriculum diversity as classroom censorship against antiracism continues to be debated across the country. The Senate and House bills were filed respectively by State Senator Jason Lewis and State Representative Nika Elugardo - with support from the Coalition for Anti-Racism, Equity, and Justice in Education.
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FIELD NOTES:
Member commentary on how issues of educational equity are talked about in the media
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From Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law:
Students deserve to be taught our country's history, especially the challenging parts. Censoring the truth prevents us from confronting the seemingly intractable problems of racism, sexism, homophobia, and more. A recent article in USA Today outlined the misunderstanding between teaching the effects of slavery and the so-called critical race theory in a poll. Parents want kids to learn about the ongoing effects of slavery – but not critical race theory. They're the same thing. After the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, the country is starting to grapple with issues of race, and some lawmakers are unfortunately using this moment to force the government to turn a blind eye to discrimination. However, USA Today poll spells out the disconnect. "More than 60% of American parents want their kids to learn about the ongoing effects of slavery and racism as part of their K-12 education." Still, only 4 in 10 parents want their children to learn about history. It's clear that when we talk honestly about the harmful impacts of racism, we all benefit from it. We must be clear that teaching history may be easier to deny or avoid our challenges, but that is never how we overcome them. Although these findings are distressing, we are hopeful that the truth will win out in the end.
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Ending Modern Day School Segregation and Part 2 w/ McAuliffe & Youngkin (School Diversity Notebook) - Peter Piazza continues his examination of efforts to redress modern-day school segregation in Virginia by spotlighting the efforts of the Thomas Jefferson Alumni Action Group and analyzing the educational equity views of the Democratic and Republican nominees.
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Classnotes Podcast: Students Want to Teach Inclusive Truth (Oct. 29): Concerned about the impact of the new classroom censorship bill in Texas, 88 public school students described their experiences with racial discrimination in school. Their stories show why diversity, equity and inclusion training are needed for teachers across Texas public schools and why Texas students need culturally-sustaining schools.
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NCSD STAFF UPDATES
What We've Been Up To Recently
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School Discipline and (De)segregation: A Cross-Movement Conversation
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Update:
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The Bridges Collaborative's student contest is for any K-12 student in the US and features cash prizes ranging from $50 to $575 and the opportunity for winners to share their ideas with a network of leaders and policymakers! Students should submit a creative project of their choosing that explores the topic of segregation in the community where they live. Submissions due by November 1st at 11:59 PST.
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Update:
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On Oct. 8th, METCO held the grand opening for its new HQ in Nubian Square! They are officially open to the public - including their amazing historic exhibits. Watch the stream of the ribbon cutting here.
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RESEARCH ADVISORY PANEL UPDATES
NCSD RAP member Casey Cobb released a new book, Public and Private Education in America: Examining the Facts, with co-author Gene V. Glass on Sept 30. The book addresses several questions and myths on education based on research evidence, including segregation: “Q6. Do school choice programs contribute to the resegregation of American schools?”; "Q30. Are public and private schools still racially and economically segregated?" Check out the full table of contents here.
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DCSC 2022 ANNUAL CONVENING
Call for RFPs and Nominations for Members of the Year
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Nominate for Member of the Year!
Among nominations, the winner will be selected from votes of active members. Those interested in joining DCSC may visit their website for more information.
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Submit a proposal to lead a session!
DCSC is accepting proposals from all attendees to lead a workshop, dilemma discussion, and/or school showcase!
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NEWS FROM
ACROSS OUR
COUNTRY
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Experts Testify on How Exclusionary Zoning Furthers Inequity
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance held a hearing to explore “the impact of exclusionary zoning on people, resources, and opportunity."
They heard testimony from five witnesses. but we would like to provide a few highlights:
Sheryl D. Cashin, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law, Civil Rights and Social Justice, Georgetown University (15:30): “Each year the LIHTC funnels about $10 billion for affordable housing construction, and only 17 percent of those units get built in high-opportunity neighborhoods with high-performing schools, low crime, and easy access to jobs. That keeps Americans who need affordable housing concentrated in the same low-opportunity areas.” Read the written testimony.
Richard D. Kahlenberg, Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation (20:40): "Many of us know the Norman Rockwell painting of six-year-old Ruby Bridges, a small Black child who had to be escorted by large FBI agents to her elementary school in New Orleans because white people objected to her presence based on the color of her skin…There are millions of modern-day Ruby Bridges whose lives are hurt by exclusionary zoning." Read the written testimony.
Dora Leong Gallo, President and CEO, A Community of Friends (26:00): "[I] urge Congress to propose legislation or regulations that link federal funding to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rules…I urge Congress to link transportation, economic development, parks, and school funding, as examples, to reducing barriers to creating affordable housing and ending discriminatory impacts of zoning rules." Read the written testimony.
Thomas Silverstein, Associate Director of Fair Housing & Community Development Project, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (31:00): "Exclusionary zoning is a significant barrier to our societal efforts to foster integrated communities and increase housing affordability. Ending exclusionary zoning presents complex but solvable problems…Congress, HUD, DOJ, and Treasury all have constructive roles to play in designing and implementing an effective federal response to exclusionary zoning…Taken together, these interventions would help forge a more just and equitable society." Read the written testimony.
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National -
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'Best Schools' Lists are Meaningless — and Could Make Segregation Worse by Jack Schneider (Wbur - Boston NPR station, Oct. 19) - School ratings, then, have the power to drive segregation. And there’s evidence that this is already happening via websites like GreatSchools.org and Niche.com. Privileged parents compete against each other in the real estate market to buy homes near “good” schools, while lower-rated schools suffer reputational harm and serve increasingly disadvantaged students.
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New York -
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New York Public Schools to End Gifted and Talented Program by Michelle L. Price & Bobby Caina Calvan (Associated Press, Oct. 8) - "Starting in the next school year, the city will stop giving 4-year-olds a screening test used to identify gifted and talented students, according to an outline of the plan released by the city’s education department on Friday."
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Pennsylvania -
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Pa. Supreme Court Ruling Could Sink Highspire Plan to Secede from Steelton-Highspire School District. by Matt Miller (Pennlive, Oct. 7) - "While Commonwealth Court concluded the money issue was not an appropriate consideration in the secession case, the Supreme Court justices took exactly the opposite view...Indeed, Donohue found, weighing the financial impact of the student transfer was vital because the secretary had to consider the overall educational effect of Highspire’s withdrawal, not just whether the departure would benefit the Highspire students."
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Virginia -
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Policy Brief: Race and School Rezoning Criteria by Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Andrene J. Castro, Kimberly Bridges, & Kendra Taylor (contexts.org, Summer 2021) - "As an interdisciplinary team of researchers studying race, school attendance boundaries and educational inequality in Virginia, we offer a set of proposals for school stakeholders involved in rezoning processes like the one we followed in Richmond. Unlike many contemporary rezoning efforts, these proposals centering race and racial discrimination can render school rezoning a more inclusive and equitable process."
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CROSS-MOVEMENT RESOURCE LIST |
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The Fair Housing Act’s Unexpected Potential by Megan Russo (Regulatory Review, Sept. 29) - "[Olatunde C.] Johnson posits that, to address harmful zoning practices, litigators can invoke the Fair Housing Act’s disparate impact standard, which prohibits discrimination that is facially neutral but has a negative impact on a racial or ethnic group."
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African American Policy Forum (AAPF) |
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Center for Antiracist Research |
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Civil Rights Projects/Proyecto Derechos Civiles |
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Metropolitan Center for Research and Equity and the Transformation of Schools |
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National Women's Law Center (NWLC) |
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Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice |
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Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership - BRHP Executive Director Adria Crutchfield will talk with Maryland's new Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury about his agenda for the state's schools.
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11/3 - 11/5
In-Person:
Tampa, Fl
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National Conference of State Legislatures - Legislatures gather in sunny Tampa, Fla. to discover a treasure trove of ideas and innovation to address the states’ most pressing issues.
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11/3 - 11/7
In-Person:
Portland, OR
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American Educational Studies Association - In search of educational liberation: revisiting the social foundations of education through the lens of revolutionary democracy, engagement, and activism.
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11/11 - 11/14
In-Person:
Columbus, OH
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University Council for Educational Administration - To engage participants in discussions about research, policy, practice, and preparation in the field of education with a specific focus on educational leadership
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Race Forward - A celebration of 40 years of catalyzing the racial justice movement! This 2-hour event will feature many leaders, organizers, culture bearers and artists working for racial equity.
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National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) - "Reckoning with Impacts, Rolling with Just Intent" is the guiding theme for the Online 2021 PoCC.
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SJTI - The focus of the institute is on personal work — working dynamics of internalized dominance and internalized oppression, and learning to better use yourself as the instrument of change.
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Contact Us
National Coalition on School Diversity
c/o Poverty and Race Research Action Council
Mailing Address: 740 15th St. NW #300
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: 202-544-5066
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