US Dept of Ed Letter on Resource Equity

Posted by U.S. Department of Education on October 13, 2014

Obama administration urges equity

A new 37-page document by the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education urges state officials, superintendents, and principals to monitor policies and facilities and ensure they are equitably distributed among students of all races, reports Motoko Rich for The New York Times. Education Department data point to persistent inequality for minorities in public schools: Black students are more than four times as likely as white students to attend schools where one-fifth of teachers do not meet all the requirements for state teaching certifications; Hispanic students are twice as likely. Schools with high concentrations of minorities are much more likely to have temporary classrooms in portable buildings. The document highlights Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that while students need not have identical resources, they must have equal access to comparable programs, materials, and facilities. The administration advises school officials to collect data on course offerings; gifted and preschool programs; athletics; teacher credentials; and access to librarians, psychologists and guidance counselors. The Office for Civil Rights can also monitor school facilities to make sure that minority students have the same quality of lighting and air-conditioning as white students or the same access to technology. When disparities are identified, the administration urges districts to “take prompt and effective steps to eliminate any unjustified inequities.”

NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/education/new-federal-guidelines-aim-to-rid-schools-of-racial-inequality.html

“Dear Colleague” Letter from USDOE: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-resourcecomp-201410.pdf