Education and Schools

This blog is cross-posted at ACSBlog.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, a challenge to the affirmative action plan used by the University of Texas at Austin. Currently, the university allocates over 80 percent of its slots to students who graduate in the top ten percent of their public high school. For the final 20 percent, the university considers many factors, including grades, a personal essay, character, special talents, socio-economic circumstances, and race. As the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held last year in upholding the constitutionality of the plan, UT-Austin carefully crafted its plan to comply with the Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger, which held that consideration of race in public university admissions could properly forward the compelling interest in diversity in education.

One of the great promises of public education, at every level, is its potential to create a student body drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives, enhancing the educational experience of all students. As the Supreme Court recognized in Grutter, “Numerous studies show that student body diversity promotes learning outcomes, and better prepares students for an increasingly diverse workforce and society, and better prepares them as professionals.”

Racial diversity within schools breaks down stereotypes that feed and perpetuate inequality. This is particularly important for women because many of the most poisonous racial stereotypes are also gender stereotypes—for example, that black women are promiscuous, that Asian women are subservient, or that Latina women are domestics. Read more »

We have all seen tragic headlines like this: Student Commits Suicide over Homophobic Slurs. School Cancels Prom over Lesbian Couple. Parents of Gay Teen Say Bullying Caused Death.

Students who are or are perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) are especially at risk for bullying and harassment at school. Every day, students across the country endure the devastating impacts of this kind of bullying; sinking academic performance, health risks, and dropping out.

Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex, but did you know there is no federal law prohibiting LGBT discrimination in schools? You can help provide a safe learning environment for all students.

Make a call today and ask your Senators to co-sponsor an important piece of legislation, the Student Non-Discrimination Act, to prevent LGBT discrimination in K-12 public schools. It's easy. Dial (202) 224-3121 TODAY and ask to be connected to your Senators' offices. Read more »

Take that, Larry Summers.   Read more »

At a time when the unemployment rate remains at a staggering 9% overall, young people are frustrated. Ideas are continuously being bandied across political news programs and between politicians. Unfortunately, it is rare to hear the ideas of those in my generation who may be the most affected by the lack of a real economic recovery in the long run.

Last week, alongside about 40 college students and recent graduates, I had the opportunity to attend the conference, “Jobs for Young Americans Day on the Hill” hosted by the Young Invincibles.

Commencing the day- long conference, we visited the offices of both Democratic and Republican law makers to discuss ways in which young people can obtain employment under the American Jobs Act; specifically the Pathways Back to Work Fund, which would provide industry based training for young adults, helping to prepare for long-term employment. Read more »

Today the Senate HELP Committee held a “roundtable” on the proposed Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that was voted out of committee two weeks ago. The roundtable came about as a result of some procedural wrangling by Sen. Rand Paul, who continues to call for greater “flexibility” for states. Today’s ESEA takeaway came from Wade Henderson, CEO of the Leadership Conference, who once and for all addressed the argument that states should be the absolute arbiters of education reform. Henderson explained that the Supreme Court studied this “states’ rights” approach to public education and “found it deeply wanting and, in fact, offensive to the Constitution.” In short – for years “flexibility” meant that states bent backwards to avoid educating the kids who need it most – including children of color, poor kids, and students with disabilities. Read more »

It’s the end of another week, and we’ve got a new roundup for you. After the jump, stories on Breast Cancer Awareness and Domestic Violence Awareness Month, girls tackling the STEM field, SNAP benefits and more. Read more »

Most people’s eyes glaze over when they hear terms like “disaggregated data.” Wonk, wonk. But advocates should take note. Disaggregated data is crucial to measuring progress for girls and a battleground issue in the school reform debate.

When schools disaggregate data, it means that they keep track of test scores for specific subgroups of students. When you don’t break down the numbers you can’t measure the success of different populations. If you don’t disaggregate – then researchers and journalists (and wonks) can’t tell how kids of color or girls are doing in school because they get lumped in with everybody else. Robert Reich, who is 4’ 10”, once quipped that he and Shaquille O’Neal have an average height of six feet. Disaggregating that data is pretty crucial to evaluating their respective dunking prospects. It’s also a key component in demonstrating student achievement and in making schools accountable for the success of their entire student population. Read more »

Did you know that over 904,000 children were served by Head Start in 2009? Or that college graduation rates for women have increased by over twenty percentage points between 1970 and 2009 but that nearly 13 percent of women still don’t graduate from high school? Or that, despite working full-time, year-round, 1,168,000 women still lived in poverty in 2008?

All of this information can be found from the Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States. Read more »