The Center for Civil Rights joined a national coalition of
education and civil rights advocates calling on the US Department of Education
to encourage school diversity as a factor in grants through the Department’s
Investing in Education ("i3") fund. Read the coalition’s comment letter.
The i3 program provides funds to support local education
agencies, as well as nonprofit organizations partnered with local education
agencies or consortiums of schools, where those applicants can show that they
use or plan to implement education practices with a proven record of
effectiveness in improving student achievement. The goal of such grants is to
expand innovative practices demonstrated to improve achievement overall, close
achievement gaps, decrease dropout and increase graduation rates, or increase
college enrollment and completion.
The Department called for comments on the December
2012 “Proposed priorities, requirements, definitions and selection criteria”
for the i3 fund, specifically on ten proposed selection priorities: (1)
Improving the effectiveness of teachers or principals, (2) Improving
low-performing schools, (3) Improving STEM education, (4) Improving academic
outcomes for students with disabilities, (5) Improving outcomes for English
Learners, (6) Improving parent and family engagement, (7) Improving
cost-effectiveness and productivity, (8) Effective use of technology, (9)
Formalizing and codifying effective practices, and (10) Serving rural
communities.
The Center and coalition members called on the Department to
include “promoting diversity” as a priority to be used in evaluating i3 grant
applications. The Department has
repeatedly stated that school diversity is a priority, especially in its
December 2011 memoranda, “Guidance on the Voluntary Use of Race to Achieve
Diversity and Avoid Racial Isolation in Elementary and Secondary Schools,” and
“Guidance on the Voluntary Use of Race to Achieve Diversity in Postsecondary
Education.” Though all the proposed priorities serve laudable goals, without
including diversity in its funding priorities, the Department again misses an
important opportunity to promote greater inclusion and educational equity.
In June 2012, the Center for Civil Rights also called upon the Department to promote K-12 diversity in its proposed Race to the
Top-District Guidelines.
Education advocates await a decision from the US Supreme
Court on the Fisher v. Texas case regarding the continuing need for race-conscious and
diversity-promoting higher education admission policies. Center attorneys Mark Dorosin and Elizabeth
Haddix, along with UNC Law School Dean Jack Boger and University Counsel,
submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on behalf of the University of
North Carolina. See Fisher Amici speak on Constitution Day panel;
CCR Staff, UNC Law Professors perform Fisher arguments
Posted by Taiyyaba A. Qureshi on Thu. January 17, 2013 9:48 AM
Categories: Education, Segregation