PRRAC's Phil Tegeler moderating a “fireside chat” with OCR's Catherine Lhamon at the Magnet Schools of America annual policy conference (more below). | |
New AFFH Proposed Rule Acknowledges Housing-Schools Link
HUD recently released a proposed Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule (a revised version of the 2015 rule suspended by the Trump Administration). Like the 2015 rule, the new proposed rule recognizes the connections between housing and school segregation, and calls on HUD grantees to address the educational impacts of their state and local housing policies. According to HUD, “This rule acknowledges the direct link between housing opportunities and access to equal educational opportunity and prompts program participants to address and eliminate discriminatory housing policies that lead to segregation among schools” (p. 8551).
HUD also gave an example of a fair housing “goal” to address a lack of access to high-performing schools for children of "historically underserved protected class groups." According to HUD, “A fair housing goal to overcome inequitable access to high-performing schools could consist of realignment of school district boundaries, school zones, or school feeder patterns and increasing the funding for schools…such a goal could require multiple parts of the jurisdiction to work together to advance equity and may require leaders in the community to provide the political will for such a goal to be established and implemented.” (p. 8566).
Comments on the proposed rule are due April 10.
| | | |
New OCR Fact Sheet on Title VI Diversity and Inclusion Activities
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a new fact sheet confirming for educators, parents, and students that diversity, equity, and inclusion training and similar activities generally are consistent with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Title VI, a law OCR enforces, prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin in programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. In response to confusion regarding the legality of diversity, equity, and inclusion activities in schools, this new fact sheet clarifies that federal civil rights laws do not prohibit schools from offering activities such as instruction on the impact of racism, cultural competency training, or school climate surveys.
| | | |
PA School Funding System Declared Unconstitutional
On February 7, 2023, in a historic victory for students, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that the state’s current school funding system is unconstitutional. Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer issued a clear directive: “All witnesses agree that every child can learn. It is now the obligation of the Legislature, Executive Branch, and educators, to make the constitutional promise a reality in this Commonwealth.”
The case was first filed in 2014 and went to trial in November 2021. Pennsylvania has the 5th largest student population in the country and some of the widest school funding disparities across the country. For many years, PA has had one of the most unreliable methods of funding education in the nation, including not having a formula through which to distribute funds. Also, while PA had refused to entertain school funding litigation for decades, this case makes the state an example for other states like Georgia, Florida, Illinois, and more to follow.
The Education Law Center-PA and the Public Interest Law Center (see press release) represented the petitioners in the case, and several NCSD members and RAP members were called as expert witnesses, including Derek Black, Pedro Noguera, and Rucker Johnson.
Related news:
| | | |
Cruz-Guzman v. State of MN Update and Amicus Briefs
Entering its eighth year of litigation, Cruz-Guzman v. State of Minnesota aims to address racial disparities between city and suburban schools in the metropolitan area of the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul). Last fall, the Court of Appeals held that claims of de facto racial segregation had no precedent under the state constitution’s education clause; therefore, the plaintiffs should be held to the same standards of proof that apply to claims of intentional or de jure segregation in federal court. The case now goes to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which the Court of Appeals noted is the more appropriate forum for addressing novel interpretations of the state constitution.
The Education Law Center and 33 of the nation’s leading education law scholars recently submitted an amici curiae, or “friends of the court,” amicus brief urging the Minnesota Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and ACLU-MN also submitted an amicus brief.
| | | |
|
NCSD STAFF UPDATES
What We've Been Up to Recently
| |
|
School transportation has been recognized as essential to the design of equitable and meaningful school choice programs. However, the issue of school transportation can often get politicized, and in some instances, critics use incomplete or inaccurate information to support their case against expanding school transportation services. The many costs and benefits of school transportation—both real and perceived—warrant careful examination and consideration.
NCSD's new fact sheet compiles news about four places that have been grappling with school transportation challenges and describes implications for integration, equity, and student success.
| |
NCSD and PRRAC Participate in MSA Policy Conference | |
NCSD director Gina Chirichigno and PRRAC executive director Phil Tegeler participated in the Magnet Schools of America (MSA) annual policy conference. Phil moderated a “fireside chat” with keynote speaker Catherine Lhamon, assistant secretary, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education. Gina helped facilitate a policy brainstorming session with MSA’s new CEO Ramin Taheri. | |
Insights from "Between the Lines" Performance and Panel Discussion | |
|
Last month, NCSD and Learn Together, Live Together co-hosted the first-ever live performance and panel discussion of Between the Lines, an Epic Theatre Ensemble play on the connection between housing policy and segregation/inequity in schools. Following the live performance, the students and panelists engaged in a moderated discussion.
Here are some insights from the conversation:
-
"There was a line in the play that I think is really simple, but really profound, which is: 'When am I going to learn this at school?' Good question. I didn't learn it in school, either. The first step is for people to be aware of this because segregation doesn't just disappear. Segregation is self-perpetuating, and it won't go away until laws and courts make it go away." - Matthew Di Carlo, Albert Shanker Institute
-
"As you demonstrated so obviously, the neighborhoods where we live, the actual physical landscape is not the result of any natural phenomenon or accident. They were designed, specifically, with very conscious choices of mind. And one of those conscious design choices was to keep Black people out." - Aderson Francois, Georgetown Law
-
"The play resonated really deeply when you talked about White folks not really being in community, relying on the data, about resource hoarding, about performative allyship, about just the ways that these disparities play out over and over again and are produced in our diverse schools." - Meredith Morelle, Kindred
-
"You've demonstrated the power of the arts and humanities in public life today, through your teaching of this difficult history…I would hope that folks that are in spaces and making decisions that would affect folks would be able to see something like this, to learn from it, and to learn from you." - Sandra Vanderbilt, George Washington University
Want to bring Between the Lines to your class, conference, or community? Learn more here.
| |
|
|
|
Marking the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez (1973) and IDRA's subsequent founding, IDRA, Trinity University and its Center for Education Leadership, and Edgewood ISD are hosting a commemorative event on On March 22 from 4:30-7:30 p.m. CT. "The Fight for School Finance Equity: Past, Present, and Future" will reflect on the case, its impact, and its legacy of struggle and activism.
Learn more and view the agenda here.
Registration is not required to attend in person. Details for remote viewing and participation will be available soon.
| | | | |
|  |
|
Update:
- Check out LPI's new policy brief, "Advancing Integration and Equity Through Magnet Schools," which describes the components found in magnet schools that are both racially diverse and educationally effective. The brief also outlines four evidence-based policy recommendations that can inform federal, state, and local efforts to help design, implement, and sustain effective magnet schools that foster integrated learning and positive student outcomes.
| | |
|
Update:
- Close to 90 school leaders ranging from superintendents, assistant superintendents, METCO and DEI directors, coordinators, and department heads participated in METCO’s Leadership Retreat. METCO HQ staff member and Scituate alum Ruth Christmas treated everyone to a rousing and emotional performance of Beyoncé’s "I Was Here" with a backdrop of METCO program photos.
| | |
|
Update:
- In 2016, the U.S. Secretaries of housing, education, and transportation came together to issue a joint letter to their state and local grantees to work together to promote housing and school integration. This year, a housing-schools coalition organized by PRRAC is urging HUD, ED, and the Department of Transportation to renew this guidance.
| | |
|
Update:
- Check out the latest SD Notebook guest blog post by Alexandra Cooperstock, PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at Cornell University, "New Research: Demographics of School District Secession," which summarizes research about school district secession in the United States, originally published in the Social Forces journal.
| | |
|
Update:
- Tune in to The Bell's new two-part Miseducation podcast episode "The Persistence of NYC School Segregation." Part 1 focuses on Reverend Milton Galamison, a Brooklyn minister who led the 1964 NYC school boycott and argued for school desegregation in wake of the protest. Part 2 looks at what’s changed and what hasn’t in New York City's decades long fight for school integration.
| | |
|
RESEARCH ADVISORY PANEL (RAP) UPDATES
- A new article co-authored by Erica Frankenberg, "Attendance zones in the suburbs" highlights how school attendance zone boundaries can play a critical role in the integration or segregation of suburban neighborhood schools.
Learn more about our Research Advisory Panel here.
| | | |
|
INDIVIDUAL MEMBER UPDATES
-
Cara McClellan and Matthew Delmont were interviewed for a History of Education Quarterly journal policy dialogue on racial segregation in America's schools, with a focus on how the past has shaped the present and constrained the future. McClellan was also interviewed by Penn Today about how affirmative action benefits institutions and helps colleges and universities fulfill their educational missions.
-
Kevin Welner wrote a piece in the Washington Post, which looks at the issue of parental rights and how it factors into the school voucher movement. According to Welner, "Research on school choice and how parents make choices suggests that increased segregation is a feature, not a bug. Parents often look to school demographics and opt for schools with more of their 'own group.'"
-
Peter Piazza wrote an op-ed, entitled "Separate has never been equal. Let’s not try it again," in response to a recent paper from MIT Blueprint Labs on school busing effects in Boston and New York. “Students, of course, are more than test scores, and schools are more than test- and college-preparation laboratories. We easily lose sight of this when we look at schools through individual gains only. The result is a lack of imagination, and a retreat to the same policies that failed 50 years ago in hopes that we might still find a way to make separate equal,” said Piazza.
-
Rick Kahlenberg co-authored an article in Slate, "Wealth: The Last Path to Diversity at College After SCOTUS Strikes Down Affirmative Action." The authors argue, “As a matter of fairness, because more than virtually any other factor, wealth determines opportunity in America. And as a matter of promoting diversity, wealth should be used in admissions because of the huge wealth gaps between white and Black families and white and Hispanic families.”
| | | |
- Check out the Teaching Hard History podcast by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance) and hosted by Hasan Kwame Jeffries, associate professor of history at The Ohio State University. The podcast's exploration of American history—lessons we should have learned in school through the voices of leading scholars and educators—begins with the long and brutal legacy of chattel slavery and reaches through the victories of and violent responses to the civil rights movement to the present day.
-
Call for papers: The special series of the Metropolitics journal will focus on efforts for Black political and economic power in the contemporary period, including educational initiatives and schools. If you have any questions, please email James DeFilippis at jdefilip@rutgers.edu or Akira Drake at akirad@upenn.edu. Submissions are due May 1, 2023.
-
Call for papers: Early Childhood Research Quarterly journal released a call for papers on equitable access to early care and education (ECE). This special issue aims to advance the knowledge base on policy solutions and practices that improve equitable access to affordable and high-quality ECE from both the family and provider perspectives. Manuscripts are due June 1, 2023.
| |
NEWS FROM ACROSS OUR COUNTRY | |
|
National -
-
A viral high school tour underscores the haves and have-nots in America's schools (NBC News, February 25) - "While some were fascinated with the school’s array of facilities, others questioned why they were even built, when other schools in the region lack resources and are at a disadvantage... These basic disparities are the aftereffects of a legacy of systemic racism and racial segregation in schools."
-
3 Myths About White Parents and School Choice (Education Week, February 22) - "Many [white parents] prefer racially diverse school settings. When public policy fails to offer integrated school choice options, this leads to self-fulfilling prophecies tied to race and class and a new generation of schoolchildren afflicted with race and class biases."
-
State-level educational quality linked to risk of dementia (Division of Research, February 13) - "People attending schools in states with higher state-level educational quality are less likely to develop dementia in late life, according to a new Kaiser Permanente analysis... They also noted the potential role of school segregation—either explicit or economic—and the need to “disentangle how historical and modern forms of segregation are associated with dementia risk, particularly among racial and ethnic minority groups.”
-
The Case for a New School Finance Reform Agenda (Future Ed, February 7) - "Today, districts are often drawn in ways that entrench existing problems like residential segregation and inequality, rather than designed to best serve all students in diverse and well-resourced classrooms. But these borders are often the result of historical arrangements or the result of local, often self-interested initiatives to redraw borders."
-
4 Actions Districts and States Can Take to Increase Staff Diversity (Education Week, January 31) - "Constantly communicating that educator and school leadership diversity is an important priority—and backing up those words with actions is one of the first, and relatively low-lift, steps that districts and state education officials can make."
-
Tyre Nichols and America’s systemic failure (Boston Globe, January 30) - "The police killing of Tyre Nichols is tied to a long history of American institutions criminalizing Black bodies... Slavery’s afterlife surrounds us—from high rates of maternal infant deaths suffered by Black women, to the overwhelming rates of Black incarceration, to educational gaps between white and Black students, to the persistence of residential segregation and the wealth gap."
| |
|
Maryland -
-
Aberdeen Native Honored For Decades Of Civil Rights Activism (Havre de Grace Patch, February 29) - "Janice Moorehead Grant, an Aberdeen native and lifelong advocate for civil rights, was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Harford Civil Rights Project... She was a key plaintiff in the final and successful lawsuit against Harford County Public Schools in 1964 to completely desegregate the school system."
| |
|
Texas -
-
How a Black veteran desegregated a Texas medical school (STAT, February 14) - "Vanessa Northington Gamble, a physician and researcher at George Washington University, wants us to know more stories of Black people actively resisting racism within medicine. STAT spoke with Gamble about a new paper she published on Herman A. Barnett III, a Black veteran who desegregated the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 1949."
| |
|
Washington, DC -
-
The Washington region doesn’t just seem more segregated. It is. (Washington Post, February 22) - "Washington is a region that is noticeably segregated. Anyone who has made a home in D.C. or its suburbs won’t find that statement surprising. But what they might find surprising is that in recent decades, even as more attention has been drawn to those divides and the inequities that come with them, the region has grown even more segregated."
-
DC’s school boundary review could advance equity, advocates say (Greater Greater Washington, February 15) - "This year, DC will review the school boundaries that determine where students get a guaranteed seat, and make recommendations on whether assignment policies should change based on a variety of equity measures... Adjusting school boundaries can have an impact on some of DC’s inequities, according to the DC Policy Center’s report."
| |
| American Civil Liberties Union |
- Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer
- Staff Attorney, Racial Justice Program
- Staff Attorney, Racial Justice Program, Indigenous Justice
- Policy Counsel, Racial Justice (2)
- Senior Policy Counsel, Housing (2)
- View all ACLU openings
| | Asian Americans Advancing Justice |
- Director, Anti-Profiling, Civil Rights & National Security
- Assistant Director, Litigation
- Staff Attorney, Litigation
- View all AAJC openings
| | Education Trust |
- Senior/Associate of Research
- Vice President, Partnerships & Engagement
- Senior Policy Analyst (K-12)
- Senior Associate, National & State Partnerships
- Director of Policy, Early Childhood
- View all EdTrust openings
| | Einhorn Collaborative | | | Gates Foundation | | | Hunt Institute |
- Deputy Director of State Engagement
- Policy Analyst - Early Learning
- Policy Analyst - Higher Education
- Senior/Policy Analyst - K-12
- Program Assistant - Educator Diversity
- 2023 Spring and Summer Intern
- View all Hunt Institute openings
| | Learning Policy Institute |
- Senior Policy Advisor or Policy Advisor
- Senior Performance Assessment Specialist
- Principal and Senior Researchers
- Research and Policy Intern
- View all LPI openings
| | MALDEF |
- Parent School Partnership Assistant
- Staff Attorney (3 positions)
-
Legislative Staff Attorney (3 positions)
- View all MALDEF openings
| | Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law | | | Legal Defense Fund |
- Deputy Director of Policy
- Thurgood Marshall Institute, Director
- Thurgood Marshall Institute Library and Research Associate
- View all LDF openings
| | National Education Association | | | Othering & Belonging Institute | | | Spencer Foundation | | | The Century Foundation | | | Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation | | | |
| |
|
State of D.C. Schools 2021-22
D.C. Policy Center
Join the D.C. Policy Center for the release of the fourth annual State of D.C. Schools report, a systemwide overview of public education in the District of Columbia. State of D.C. Schools, 2021-22 focuses on the return to in-person learning for all students for the first time in almost two years, measuring outcomes, and beginning work on recovery.
| | | |
|
Washington, DC
March 19-21
| |
|
NASBE Legislative Conference
National Association of State Boards of Education
The conference provides an opportunity to engage with the leaders who shape federal education policy: members of Congress, senior officials at the U.S. Department of Education, and other prominent national education experts. Conference sessions will explore topics that are front and center for state boards, including educator retention, high school redesign and workforce innovation, learning recovery, early childhood education, collaboration with other state policy leaders, and more.
| | | |
|
Indianapolis, IN
March 23-24
| |
|
NIET National Conference: Elevating Educators
National Institute for Excellence in Teaching
"This convening of educators and decision-makers on the cutting edge of educational improvement will give you relevant, timely, actionable ideas and resources. Get ready to learn through high-impact, collaborative sessions led by experts from across the country."
| | | |
| |
|
AEFP 48th Annual Conference
American Education Finance and Policy
This conference brings together researchers, students, policymakers, practitioners, and others interested in the field of education finance and policy to share and learn about research spanning from early childhood education to long-term postsecondary outcomes.
| | | |
| |
|
Exploring Sense of Belonging: Defining and Taking Action
LearnLaunch Institute
"Over the course of the day, you will have the opportunity to reflect on what sense of belonging means for your district or school, to learn from and with peers from across the state, and to leave with an actionable next step for your context."
| | | |
|
Denver, CO
March 31-April 3
| |
|
ASCD Annual Conference
ASCD
"Ignite your passion while you learn from innovative changemakers tackling today’s most pressing education issues. Renew your purpose as you get inspired to explore new thinking. Transform your practice in hands-on learning sessions based on real-world strategies and research-based methods. And, make the most of your time away by recharging and reconnecting. When you thrive, your students flourish."
| | | |
| |
|
ELC 50th Anniversary Celebration
Education Law Center
"Please join us as we commemorate our last five decades of progress promoting education equity and racial justice in New Jersey and other states across the country and set the stage for the next fifty years and beyond."
| | | |
| |
|
National Social and Emotional Learning Conference
Center for the Promotion of Social and Emotional Learning
"This conference is a unique opportunity to deepen your knowledge and practice for powerful social and emotional learning integration in inclusive and diverse environments to support student success."
| | | |
| |
|
76th EWA National Seminar
Education Writers Association
As part of this year’s theme, “Looking Back, Moving Forward,” EWA will examine the history of civil rights in education. The event will also examine the continued aftermath of the pandemic on learning at all levels as well as other education issues making news. Attendees will leave equipped to better cover the 2023-24 academic year and beyond.
| | | |
|
Philadelphia, PA
June 7-9
| |
|
National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference
Institute for Educational Leadership
"This national conference brings together people from across the country who believe all children deserve a safe place to live and opportunities to learn and thrive. Inspired by our theme: Spreading Love & Supporting All Children, the conference is designed to catalyze collaboration, action, and a renewed commitment to transforming our practices, partnerships, and systems."
| | | |
|
Clinton, TN
June 26-30 and
July 10-14 (online)
| |
|
Centering Youth Agency in the Civil Rights Movement Summer Institute for Educators
Children’s Defense Fund and Florida A&M University
"This professional development program will serve 25 K-12 teachers of all subject areas and expose participants to new approaches to civil rights history that center the agency of young people. This program is based on innovative scholarship and the culturally relevant pedagogical traditions of Freedom Schools past and present."
| | | |
|
Buffalo, NY
July 21-23 (hybrid)
| |
|
6th Annual Teaching Black History Conference
University at Buffalo
The Teaching Black History Conference is the signature program of the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education at the University at Buffalo. The conference convenes hundreds of teachers to learn the best curricular and instructional practices surrounding Black history education. This year's conference theme is The Sounds of Blackness, Hip Hop Turns 50. Learn more and submit a proposal by March 4.
| | | | |
|
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
| | | | |
