School Reform & Dropout Prevention

NWLC has worked since 1972 to ensure equal educational opportunities and has worked since Congress enacted Title IX to advance and protect the rights of students in educational institutions. NWLC believes that children should have equal access to high quality education programs and that federal education policy must ensure that all students can benefit equally from rigorous academic standards. We’re working for education reforms that will help improve graduation rates and post-secondary success for all students, particularly girls of color, who are dropping out of school at high rates.

Highlights

Legal Briefs & Testimony | NWLC Letter to Secretary Duncan re: ESEA Waivers and Accountability

September 6, 2011

This letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan outlines the Center’s concerns regarding the Department of Education’s plan to waive some of the requirements for states under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA, or No Child Left Behind). Most states have indicated their intention to for these.  In evaluating the requests, it is imperative that the Department maintain core provisions of ESEA’s accountability system, such as the requirement that states, districts, and schools demonstrate continued progress toward and be held accountable for improving student academic achievement and graduation rates. This is especially critical among subgroups of students.  The Center urged the Department to require states that get waivers to collect and disseminate data on graduation rates, academic assessments, and any other indicators of student performance that are fully disaggregated, including by gender, and cross-tabulated by gender and race/ethnicity.

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Legal Briefs & Testimony | Joint Statement of Civil Rights Leaders to HELP Committee re: ESEA

April 4, 2011

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education recognized that the access toeducation is fundamental to ensuring equal opportunity for all Americans. But Brown was momentous not simply because it affirmed the right of black and brown children to be treated equally in the classroom, but also because it reinforced a core principle: that equity is central to our democratic society. While Brown energized the civil rights movement, we know that making its promise a reality has proved challenging, to say the least. The enactment of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was one way of implementing the civil rights principles fought for in Brown.C

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Reports & Toolkits | Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation - Executive Summary

June 9, 2009

Latinas are dropping out of school in alarming numbers. 41% of Latina students do not graduate with their class in four years - if they graduate at all. Listening to Latinas explores the causes of the dropout crisis for Latinas and identifies the actions needed to improve their graduation rates and get them ready for college.

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More Resources

Legal Briefs & Testimony | Letter to Members of the House Re: Comments on Discussion Drafts of the No Child Left Behind Act

September 14, 2007
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Legal Briefs & Testimony | Letter to Senators Kennedy and Enzi Re: Reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act

July 21, 2007
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Fact Sheet | School Reform & Dropout Prevention: Policy Information

January 05, 2006

A Dropout Crisis for Girls

Policy Information

The National Women's Law Center is committed to improving women's education and ensuring equal access to all educational opportunities. By getting new laws on the books and offering recommendations to proposed legislation, the Center is working to ensure that the federal government addresses the dropout crisis and enacts public policy to guarantee gender equality in education.

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Fact Sheet | School Reform & Dropout Prevention: Promising Practices

January 05, 2006

A Dropout Crisis for Girls: Promising Practices

Recently, NWLC released a report on the high school dropout crisis for girls called When Girls Don't Graduate, We All Fail: A Call to Improve High School Graduation Rates for Girls. Now, we're working with schools, community organizations, and policy makers to identify "promising practices" that schools can use to keep students from dropping out.

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