NCSD Co-sponsoring Hill Briefing with LPI (10/22/20)


Learning Policy Institute Congressional Briefing (Virtual) – “State and Federal Opportunities to Support More Diverse and Inclusive School Systems”

On October 22, 2020, we will be partnering with the Learning Policy Institute to present the congressional briefing “State and Federal Opportunities to Support More Diverse and Inclusive School Systems.” The nation’s work towards greater racial equity and a more just society in many ways begins with more diverse and inclusive learning environments. Yet public schools are increasingly segregated along both racial and socioeconomic lines. Many of the most extremely segregated schools are also the most under-resourced, disproportionately staffed by inexperienced educators, lack of access to quality curriculum, and lack of quality facilities or access to technology. Even where there is student diversity, access to a diverse and inclusive learning environment may still be out of reach. Research shows diverse learning environments and experiences can improve outcomes for all students and help prepare them for participating in a diverse, global economy. States and the federal government can play a critical role in creating more diverse and inclusive school systems and in supporting and accelerating state and local efforts.

Hosted by the Learning Policy Institute and the National Coalition on School Diversity. Sponsored by Representative Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT).

Please RSVP here.

When: October 22 at 1:00pm ET

Strength in Diversity Passes in House on 9/15

In a historic bipartisan vote on Sept 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Strength in Diversity Act with over 100 co-sponsors. The proposed legislation, one of NCSD’s two main policy priorities during this Congress, would provide support and funding for voluntary, locally-driven efforts to further racial and socioeconomic integration in schools.

Strength in Diversity Act: Key Resources

Related Articles

 

NCSD in the News: Education Week Covers Passage of Strength in Diversity in House

House Passes Signature Bills on School Integration and Discrimination
by Andrew Ujifusa
September 15, 2020 (updated September 16, 2020)
Education Week

“Groups like AASA, the School Superintendents Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Coalition on School Diversity have backed the bill. This past summer, we spoke to the author of the Senate version, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., about why protests against racial injustice underscored the importance of the Strength in Diversity Act.”

Press Release: NCSD-Endorsed Strength in Diversity Act Passes in Historic U.S. House Vote

EMBARGOED UNTIL TUES, 9/15, AFTER VOTE
CONTACT: Michael Mouton
Communications & Partnerships Manager – NCSD
mmouton@prrac.org
281-796-0570

Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2639, the Strength in Diversity Act with over 100 co-sponsors. The Strength in Diversity Act was introduced by Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (OH-11) in the House and by Senator Chris Murphy (CT) in the Senate as S.1418.

Read the full press release.

 

 

RAP Members in the News: NBC describes "The American dream while Black"

The American dream while Black: ‘We took our foot off the gas pedal’
by Erin Einhorn and Nigel Chiwaya
Aug. 31, 2020
NBC News

“The consequences of that resegregation have been painful, said Rucker Johnson, an economist and public policy professor at the University of California, Berkeley. ‘We must think of racism as an infectious disease and silence leaves the disease untreated,’ said Johnson, the author of ‘Children of the Dream: Why School Integration Works.’ When communities resegregated schools, he said, they halted progress in bridging academic and economic gaps that had long existed between Blacks and whites.” 

“‘Despite those challenges, [Erica] Frankenberg said, it was a start. ‘We brought kids and teachers of different races together in the same building, which particularly in the South had not been done before, and the significance of that undertaking alone cannot be understated.’ ‘But then,’ Frankenberg added, we took our foot off the gas pedal for desegregation.’”

NCSD Member Myron Orfield is also quoted.

Using CARES Act Flexibility to Address Systemic Inequity and Integration

In NCSD’s latest publication, Jessica Mugler and Philip Tegeler of the Poverty and Race Research Action Council advance the idea of Using CARES Act Flexibility to Address Systemic Educational Inequality and Bring Students Together.

NCSD2020 Keynote Available Online

If you missed our #NCSD2020 keynote conversation, featuring Vanessa Siddle Walker and Elizabeth McRae and facilitated by Dani McClain, you can access it on YouTube.

The keynote conversation took place live on May 14th at 2:00pm.

This session was designed as a tribute to the late Courtney Mykytyn (founder and executive director of Integrated Schools, and NCSD steering committee member). Courtney was tragically killed in an automobile accident in December 2019. As such, author and entrepreneur Courtney E. Martin and Integrated Schools podcast host Andrew Lefkowits offered brief reflections prior to and following the keynote presentation.

The keynote presentation will weave together information and concepts from the following books:

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org     Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org     Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org          

Note: A small portion of the proceeds from book sales via IndieBound (using links above) will help support the work of Integrated Schools, in memory of Courtney Everts Mykytyn. 

Learn more about the speakers at https://prracncsd.wpengine.com/virtualconference.

Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force Calls for Greater Efforts to Ensure Educational Equity

The Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force included language in their recommendations calling for a redoubling of efforts to further educational equity during a Biden administration:

“It is unacceptable that America’s public schools are more racially segregated today than they were when Brown v. Board of Education was decided 66 years ago. Democrats support appointing judges who will enforce the Civil Rights Act in schools and will fund magnet schools and school transportation initiatives to help facilitate improved integration. We will also reinvigorate and increase funding for the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and improve federal data collection on racial segregation in schools. Schools should be safe zones for children and their families, which is why Democrats will protect sensitive locations like schools from immigration enforcement actions and will ensure English language learners receive the support they need to succeed.”

 

Twitter Chat (7/28/20 at 6pm ET)

We’re excited to be hosting another Twitter chat with @integratedschls and @LearnTLiveT on 7/28 at 6pm EDT regarding the legacy of the Supreme Court’s Milliken v. Bradley decision (which turns 46 years old this Saturday, July 25).

Join the conversation at #ThurgoodWasRight.

For more information email gina.chirichigno@gmail.com.

Policy Brief: Model State School Integration Policies

As educators across the country make a valiant effort to meet the needs of their students in response to the coronavirus crisis, the educational impacts of disparities in family resources and school funding are apparent. The crisis also reminds us of the many roles that schools play beyond academics. When students eventually return to school, will we merely continue our current policies, or might we make some progress in developing a fairer public school system, including, potentially, a more integrated one? Our movement’s leading thinkers are pushing us to face this question squarely (more on that here).

State governments are in the best position to reverse the tide of increasing racial and socioeconomic segregation in our public schools if the political will is present. The federal government, through the Every Student Succeeds Act (“ESSA”), provides significant compensatory funding for lower-income schools in Title I. Related sections of ESSA can also provide funding incentives for school integration, as could Congress. But for the past few decades, Congress has been reluctant to impose any real accountability for integration on state and local governments. This leaves a very large policy vacuum for state governments to fill.

Our model state school integration policies represent small but meaningful steps that state legislatures can take to begin to bring students and communities back together. These policies would begin to provide greater flexibility and support for districts that understand the value of racial and socioeconomic integration, and greater accountability for segregation both within and across districts. They propose funding for a variety of voluntary integration efforts, put stronger limits on school district secession, require assessments of the segregation impacts of significant capital investments, and institute systems of measurement for school segregation-something only a handful of states currently require.

As we wait to reboot “live” K-12 education, we urge state policymakers to put education policies in place that embody the lessons the COVID-19 crisis implores us to confront- we are interdependent and our fates interconnected, but we still have a lot of work to do to actualize a just, inclusive society.

Check out this piece from the School Diversity Notebook summarizing the policy brief.