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Public schools are increasingly segregated along both racial and socioeconomic lines, and many of the most extremely segregated schools are also the most under-resourced, plagued by inexperienced educators, lack of access to quality curriculum, and lack of quality facilities or access to technology. Two new LPI reports look at the roles the federal government, states, and districts play in promoting racially diverse learning environments.
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Public schools are increasingly segregated along both racial and socioeconomic lines and many of the most extremely segregated schools are also the most under-resourced, plagued by inexperienced educators, lack of access to quality curriculum, and lack of quality facilities or access to technology. Although integrated education is not a panacea, diverse learning environments benefit all students and the federal government plays a critical role in fostering school diversity.
Roberta C. FurgerLaura E. HernándezLinda Darling-Hammond
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California students, families, educators, and policymakers are at the center of one of the most ambitious, equity-focused education reforms in the country. Changes include a bold, new approach to equitable funding, a more holistic vision of student and school success, and community engagement in decision making. This study analyzes the impact of the reforms on opportunities and outcomes, and identifies the challenges ahead for California.
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California’s massive overhaul of its education finance and accountability systems since 2012 has begun to increase supports and improve outcomes for historically marginalized students, according to a report released by the Learning Policy Institute. The state’s equitable funding plan, together with its move towards a more holistic—and less punitive—accountability system has come to be known as the “California Way.”
Roberta C. FurgerLaura E. HernándezLinda Darling-Hammond
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In 2013, California adopted its Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which has shifted billions of dollars to districts serving high-need students, created a multiple-measure accountability system, and provided all districts with broad flexibility to develop spending plans aligned to local priorities and needs. This report examines LCFF and related reforms—the decade-plus effort leading to their passage and the impact on culture, practice, opportunities, and outcomes—and explores next steps to sustain and deepen improvement. Read the report or brief >
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In late December, 2018, the Trump administration rescinded Obama-era guidance on school discipline that has helped improve school safety and student achievement across the country. In advance of that decision, Linda Darling-Hammond and Chris Edley cautioned against this move in a commentary in The Hill. They explained that after states adopted the guidance, suspensions and expulsions—which are given at much higher rates to students of color—were reduced significantly as were school-based firearms incidents.
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Grassroots organizing and movement building to combat the school-to-prison pipeline has focused on ending zero-tolerance and exclusionary discipline policies and implementing more humane alternatives, such as restorative justice. This movement is winning policy victories through the combination of research-based evidence and the personal stories of parents and students who are directly impacted by injustice, and by building broader alliances to bring more resources and clout to their efforts.
Peter W. Cookson, Jr.Linda Darling-HammondRobert RothmanPatrick M. Shields
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Often forgotten in the policy debates on school choice are fundamental questions of whether and how choice influences access to high-quality schools, and whether, in our diverse democracy that requires common ground, choices promote or undermine integration. This report reviews research on a variety of school choice strategies and examines how public school choices can be managed to ensure all students have excellent schools to choose from and are chosen by excellent schools.
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In recent years, the country has been rocked by debates about school choice. For some, school choice, in and of itself, is viewed as a major goal of policy. For others, the term raises concerns about privatization of public schools. Often forgotten in the policy debates are the fundamental questions of whether and how choice influences access to high-quality schools for all students, and whether, in our diverse democracy that requires common ground, choices promote or undermine integration. Rather than debate school choice as an end, a new research report shifts the focus to choice as a means to an end.
Stephen KostyoJessica CardichonLinda Darling-Hammond
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College- and career-readiness is an important factor of student success. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides opportunities for states to address it and other non-academic indicators that affect student success. This brief describes how states can use data on college- and career-readiness to measure and expand access to curricula that prepare students for the modern economy. It is part of the report Making ESSA’s Equity Promise Real: State Strategies to Close the Opportunity Gap.
