By Sunita Sohrabji<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Education rights are under attack, especially for children of color and transgender students, said a group of panelists, exhorting Congress and the courts to step in and ensure equal access to quality learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Panelists discussed several issues which are being challenged in the courts: whether race should be considered as one of several factors in college admissions; President Joe Biden\u2019s student debt cancellation program; book bans and the controversy surrounding the teaching of critical race theory. They also discussed inclusion for disabled students, and the importance of early childhood education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The administration\u2019s student loan relief program \u2014 which would provide debt relief for over 40 million working and middle class Americans by forgiving up to $20,000 in debt \u2014 has been challenged by a coalition of Republican-led states, which state that the required public period was not offered before the program was scheduled to be implemented. Lower courts have ruled in favor of the states and issued an injunction on implementation. The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments in the case this February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented health, social, and economic crisis. The Biden Harris Administration student debt relief plan is an urgently needed moral and lawful response, said Genevieve \u2018Genzie\u2019 Bonadies Torres, Associate Director for the Educational Opportunities Project of the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights Under Law<\/u><\/a> at the Jan. 18 news briefing organized by Ethnic Media Services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout this relief, millions of borrowers would be pushed past the financial brink when student loan repayments restart. And among them are millions of borrowers of color who we know have been hardest hit by the pandemic. This foreseeable spike in default would debilitate the credit of millions of borrowers, blocking their ability to pay for basic necessities and preventing them from securing affordable housing, among other adverse outcomes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Almost 50 percent of Latinx borrowers and 25 percent of Black borrowers stand to have all their student debt eliminated by Biden\u2019s plan, noted Torres. Students of color have roughly one-fifth of the generational wealth of their white counterparts and therefore are forced to take on more student loans, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Supreme Court is also expected to issue a ruling on race-based admissions this June. Students for Fair Admissions<\/u><\/a> has brought about two cases, one against Harvard, the other against the University of North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chief Justice John Roberts, Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito were dissenters on a similar case in 2016. Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch are also expected to rule against race-based admissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re not talking about quotas. What we are talking about is the limited consideration of race as one of 40 factors in the UNC case and one of more than 100 factors in the Harvard case,\u201d said Michaele Turnage Young, Senior Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll students deserve a fair shot at getting a quality education, regardless of their income, where they grew up, or their racial or ethnic backgrounds,\u201d said Turnage Young. \u201cBut unfortunately, while talent is everywhere in our country, opportunity is not. Too many students of color must contend with systemic and interpersonal racism that detrimentally affects their educational opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is important that colleges and universities continue to be allowed to consider the full context of applicants experiences, including the way that racism artificially depresses the prospects of many hardworking, talented, Black, Latinx, native and underserved Asian American students, so that everyone has a fair shot,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Panelists also discussed what constitutes a healthy school environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe know that education policy decisions must be informed by the values, priorities and experiences of marginalized people, \u201d said Liz King, Senior Director of the Education Equity Program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor too long, people of color, native people, LGBTQ people with disabilities, immigrants, religious minorities, English learners, girls, low income people, and other marginalized people have had their stories told by someone else. Their opportunity to attend a school that is warm, welcoming, and that prepares them for the full exercise of their social, political, and economic rights has been denied,\u201d said King, who moderated the Jan. 18 discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo one should be asked to check parts of their identity at the door. Everyone should see themselves and their communities reflected in the curriculum and instructional practices,\u201d said Morgan Craven, National Director of Policy, Advocacy and Community Engagement at the Intercultural Development Research Association.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Craven spoke about classroom censorship, the targeting of systemically marginalized students and communities, and challenges to schools diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We know from 50 years of education policy research and teacher training work that culturally sustaining schools \u2014 places where every student feels welcome \u2014 are key to student success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several states have banned the teaching of critical race theory, including: Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Seventeen more states have bills moving through their legislature to ban CRT, loosely defined as the teaching of systemic racism at all levels of society, from housing to employment, healthcare and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Craven\u2019s remarks came ahead of the news curve: a day after the briefing, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a statewide ban on an advanced course teaching African American history. Florida is hardly alone: Between July 2021 and June 2022, according to PEN America, Texas school districts banned 801 books in 22 school districts, the most of any US state. Most of the banned books focused on racial history and sexual identity. Craven said she expected to see more such activity this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AJ Link, Policy Analyst at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network<\/u><\/a> noted the threats at school settings to students who are disabled, non-binary, or of color. He laid out eight principles of creating healthy school environments, which include addressing childhood trauma, enhancing protections against harassment and discrimination in schools, and eliminating school based law enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Link spoke about the practices of restraint and seclusion: police handcuffing a child who may merely be having a temper tantrum, or teachers actually sitting on misbehaving students. Restraint and seclusion tactics are disproportionately used on marginalized students, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI really hope that we start viewing children as children, instead of threats to be afraid of. And that we support and invest in our children in a loving, caring, supportive way, instead of acting like being a child is automatically some type of criminal activity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRace-Based College Admissions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Inclusive School Environments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Check Identity at the Door?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Critical Race Theory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Restraint and Seclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Early Childhood Education<\/h2>\n\n\n\n