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Our newest research brief, “Accountability Systems and the Persistence of School Segregation: Research Evidence and Future Directions,” looks at recent empirical research to consider what, if any, relationship exists between systems of accountability and the persistence of school segregation. Written by James Noonan and Peter Piazza.
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In this new NCSD fact sheet, we summarize several recent studies and reports that further underscore the importance of K-12 school integration, including:
Via NCSD’s April 2022 newsletter.
“The Board is aware of no decision of any appellate court — and the Coalition has cited none — holding that public education authorities violate the Equal Protection Clause by adopting race-neutral student admissions criteria in order to promote increased socioeconomic and racial diversity.”
–Donald Verrilli, Jr.
Representing the Fairfax County School Board attorney(and former U.S. Solicitor General) in response to an emergency request from the Coalition for TJ et al to ask the Supreme Court to put a stay on the 4th Circuit’s ruling
“Every student has a right to a fair shot at receiving an excellent education, regardless of their income, where they grew up, or their racial and ethnic background. But for well over a decade, the TJ admission process failed to identify all Black, Latino, and underserved Asian American students with the aptitude to excel. It would have been a serious mistake — and, as the court’s order notes, contrary to Supreme Court precedent — to allow this fairer system to be enjoined.”
—Statement by NAACP Legal Defense Fund,
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and Latino Justice PRLDEF in response to 4th Circuit ruling
On April 25th, the Supreme Court rejected a request for emergency relief from the Coalition for TJ to stop Thomas Jefferson High School administrators from using a new admissions policy for TJ’s Class of 2026. The request had been joined by Virginia Attorney General Jason S. Miyares and Republican attorneys general from 15 states.
Background
As described in the New York Times, the most well-known case currently challenging admissions changes at competitive schools is Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board. The plaintiffs in the case claim that non-race-based criteria (such as reducing reliance on test scores) at Thomas Jefferson High School, intended to achieve greater racial diversity in the student body, are subject to strict scrutiny under the 14th Amendment because of a foreseeable reduction in the percentage of students in one or more racial/ethnic groups (in this case, Asian-American students).
Previously, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia agreed with the plaintiffs, finding that the Fairfax County School Board acted with discriminatory intent in its efforts to increase the representation of Black and Latino students at Thomas Jefferson. As a result, the judge enjoined school administrators from using the policy. On appeal, a Fourth Circuit panel granted a stay of the ruling, allowing implementation of the new admissions policy to go forward.
Why Does It Matter?
The original decision from the Eastern District of Virginia federal court is very troubling since the school district was following the Supreme Court’s 2007 majority opinion from the Parents Involved case in its efforts to increase racial diversity at the school (for example, allocating a significant number of seats to the highest-ranking students at each feeder middle school in the region and eliminating test scores as the deciding factor in awarding seats to the remaining applicants).
The Supreme Court’s refusal to stop the enactment of the policy while this case is under appeal is promising. However, the Supreme Court might eventually hear the case and issue a new standard for how public schools go about achieving racial and socioeconomic diversity. The Supreme Court is preparing to consider challenges to the holistic affirmative action programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A decision in those cases, though governed by a different set of legal precedents, could have an effect on diversity efforts in K-12 schools.
Related News:
- Divided Supreme Court Allows Selective High School’s Diversity Policy by Greg Stohr (Bloomberg, April 25) – “’This court has long recognized that seeking to improve diversity — including geographic, socioeconomic, and racial diversity — is not the same as pursuing racial balancing, and that the former goal may be pursued through race-neutral methods,’ the school board argued.”
Via NCSD’s March 2022 newsletter.
The new Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) funding notice was released in the Federal Register, and it includes some important diversity-related provisions – a strong focus on supporting voluntary or mandatory desegregation plans, encouraging inter-district and whole school magnets, and coordination with housing and transportation agencies (including HUD’s public housing redevelopment programs).
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NCSD’s newest research brief, authored by Casey Cobb, summarizes research about the effects of school choice programs and their differential designs on school diversity.
Main takeaway: “[T]he evidence shows that if school choice programs cannot or do not pay attention to social class and race, they generally increase segregation among schools. That is, racially and ethnically diverse schools become less diverse under unregulated choice plans. Parents who enjoy social and economic advantages manage to maintain those advantages, especially in unregulated school choice programs. School choice policies consistently provide an advantage to the dominant cultural group (Cobb & Irizarry, 2020).”
Via NCSD’s February 2022 newsletter.
As the Supreme Court prepares to consider challenges to the holistic affirmative action programs at Harvard and UNC, the Pacific Legal Foundation continues to wage an aggressive attack on school integration in the lower courts, including challenging efforts to promote racial diversity at selective high schools.
As described recently in the New York Times, the most well-known of these cases challenge admissions changes at the competitive Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, VA. The case claims that non-race-based criteria (such as reducing reliance on test scores) intended to achieve greater racial diversity in the student body are subject to strict scrutiny under the 14th Amendment, because of a foreseeable reduction in the percentage of students in one or more racial/ethnic groups (in this case, Asian-American students).
Last week, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia agreed with the plaintiffs, finding that the Fairfax County School Board acted with discriminatory intent in its efforts to increase the representation of Black and Latino students at Thomas Jefferson.
The decision is very troubling since the school district was following the Supreme Court’s 2007 majority opinion from the Parents Involved case in its efforts to increase racial diversity at the school (for example, allocating a significant number of seats to the highest-ranking students at each feeder middle school in the region and eliminating test scores as the deciding factor in awarding seats to the remaining applicants).
REGRESSIVE LEGISLATION PROPOSED
The recently-elected governor of Virginia has also supported proposed legislation that would potentially prevent VA school districts from using the measures specifically endorsed by Justice Kennedy in the Parents Involved decision (zoning, recruitment, school construction, etc.) if they can be shown to be pretextual for considerations of race. Read the bill here.
REACTIONS
NCSD member organization NAACP LDF joined Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the Virginia NAACP, Hamkae Center, Asian American LEAD (AALEAD), CASA Virginia, Hispanic Federation, and the TJ Alumni for Racial Justice to release a statement in reaction to the recent developments in the case (excerpt below):
“Contrary to binding precedent, today’s erroneous decision by the Court uses the Equal Protection clause to cement pre-existing inequalities and hinder school districts from removing unfair barriers to opportunity for many Black, Latinx, and underserved Asian American students in direct conflict with the very purpose of the Equal Protection Clause. Such measures are not anti-Asian, and, in fact, benefit Asian American students. Indeed, all students benefit from a system that promotes fair opportunities for all. The court’s decision will harm underprivileged students of color. It also essentially stymies school districts from addressing known problems of equal educational access with race-neutral efforts. As racial justice advocates, we will continue to support race-neutral policies that better ensure equal educational opportunities consistent with the Equal Protection Clause.”
We will be watching these developments closely.
Equity Assistance Centers
The Department of Education (ED) issued a notice inviting applications for FY 2022 for the Equity Assistance Centers. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education under Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Equity Assistance Centers (EACs) provide assistance in the areas of race, gender, national origin, and religion to public school districts to promote equal educational opportunities.
- Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 16, 2022
- Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 15, 2022
Magnet Schools Assistance Programs
The Department also issued a notice inviting applications for the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP). MSAP funds the development of magnet schools with special curricula that are capable of attracting diverse groups of students. Projects must be designed to provide innovative educational practices, increased choices for families, equitable access for all students to academic knowledge and skills, and reduced levels of isolation among minority groups within schools, among other features. ED expects to award 35-40 grants of up to $15 million over a five-year period.
- Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 25, 2022
- Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 7, 2022
Nearly 40 organizations and individuals joined us in calling for improvements to CRDC’s ability “to monitor and support the implementation of holistic school desegregation plans.”
Improving federal civil rights data collection would support desegregation efforts, increase accountability in school districts under desegregation orders, reduce legal uncertainty for those districts, and assist research into school integration. This has been a long-term goal of NCSD, as mentioned in our 2019 policy agenda.
“While the Civil Rights Data Collection provides crucial data on discriminatory policies, practices, and resource disparities, it has strayed from one of its original purposes, to monitor and support the implementation of holistic school desegregation plans.”
Education Law/Policy/Organizing Fellowship
National Coalition on School Diversity
Washington, D.C. (Currently Remote and/or Hybrid)
This fellowship offers a 2022 JD graduate the opportunity to work for one year with the National Coalition on School Diversity (NCSD), which is housed at the Washington-DC based Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC). The fellowship is open to JD students graduating in May 2022.
The National Coalition on School Diversity is seeking a Law/Policy/Organizing Fellow to assist NCSD with: outreach, organizing, and network-building efforts; analysis and development of federal, state, and/or local education policies; and legislative and administrative advocacy. The Law/Policy/Organizing Fellow will play a critical role in advancing NCSD’s policy goals by connecting local stakeholders/activists, advocates, and scholars with federal, state, and local policymakers (and one another). The fellow will work closely with NCSD staff, including its communications staff, to strengthen NCSD’s advocacy by effectively elevating lived experiences and research evidence; centering and amplifying youth voices; increasing the visibility of local and state efforts; and building authentic, reciprocal relationships between advocates, scholars, and grassroots stakeholders/activists (primarily students, parents, and educators). This is a great opportunity for recent graduates looking to weave together interests and skills in legal/policy advocacy, grassroots organizing, educational justice, and communications.
Founded in 2009, the National Coalition on School Diversity (NCSD) is a cross-sector network of 50+ national civil rights organizations, university-based research centers, and state and local coalitions working to expand support for school integration across the United States. NCSD functions as the main hub of the school integration movement, supporting its members in designing, enacting, implementing, and uplifting PK-12 public school integration policies and practices. NCSD is housed at the Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC), a civil rights policy organization based in Washington, DC. PRRAC’s primary mission is to help connect advocates with social scientists working on race and poverty issues, and to develop innovative approaches to structural inequality issues. PRRAC’s work explores the causes and consequences of housing and school segregation, and emphasizes the development of appropriate remedial strategies.
Qualifications: The fellowship is open to JD students graduating in May 2022. The ideal candidate for this position would have exceptional written and oral communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively and creatively across different constituencies (e.g. policy experts, media, and students/parents/educators). This is a new position at NCSD, and the selected fellow will have a role in shaping it. To be most successful, therefore, the fellow must be: proactive; a strategic and creative thinker; able to work well both independently and collaboratively; and committed to forming relationships with our member organizations and partners. The ideal candidate will: have prior experience working with youth, parents, and/or educators and/or as an organizer; be passionate about educational equity, school integration, youth leadership, racial justice, and systemic change; possess the ability to effectively situate their own experiences within the education system and articulate their connection to NCSD’s work in a compelling way; enjoy building networks, conducting outreach, and engaging and relating with people; have demonstrated capacity to effectively facilitate trainings and group processes; and deeply believe in the importance of cross-racial/cross-class/cross-generational work. Familiarity with and desire to actively apply movement law, critical race theory, reproductive justice, and other frameworks is a plus. A law degree at the time of employment is required. The position would be primarily supervised by NCSD’s Director, Gina Chirichigno, and PRRAC’s Executive Director, Philip Tegeler.
COVID-19: PRRAC has been working remotely, with some staff voluntarily coming into the office a couple days a week. We will be reevaluating this policy in 2022 and expect that there will be a shift back to a more frequent in-office presence. All staff are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. This position is based in Washington, DC.
Application: Applicants must submit a resume, brief statement of interest, two references (one academic and one character/personal, e.g. a mentor, peer, or former supervisor), and two relevant writing samples. Materials should be submitted to Gina Chirichigno at gchirichigno@prrac.org (or through your law school’s application system, if applicable). Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The National Coalition on School Diversity happily considers requests to host individuals for fellowships, where the projects align with our areas of expertise and the fellow is able to identify their own outside source of funding.
This includes current law students from any ABA-accredited law school seeking a postgraduate fellowship that is partially or fully funded by an external source, such as a Skadden fellowship, Equal Justice Works, Justice Catalyst, Soros, or a program funded by your school.
If you would like to explore potential opportunities, please contact Gina Chirichigno at gchirichigno@prrac.org.
Over 70+ organizations and individuals joined NCSD’s recent letter urging Congress to retain funding for the Fostering Diverse Schools program in the FY 22 budget (following up on a similar letter we sent to Congress in April 2021).
The Fostering Diverse Schools program would provide $100 million for a voluntary grant program that states and school districts could apply for to help reduce racial and socioeconomic isolation in their schools. It is modeled after the Strength in Diversity Act, which passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis in the 116th Congress.
Join us in advocating for Fostering Diverse Schools. Find some basic talking points here, and contact your legislators this week!
We also submitted a letter requesting that the House bring the Strength in Diversity Act (H.R. 729) to the floor for a vote.
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