What is educational equity?

Equality is treating everyone the same. It only works well if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same help and support.

 

Equity is giving everyone what they need to be successful. An equitable education works well when ALL students receive individualized resources to be successful.

 

School Zoning Practices – The way school zones are drawn creates schools with high concentrations of students living in poverty, and these schools do not get the same resources as schools in higher-income areas.

 

Classroom Discipline – Ineffective disciplinary practices can create high absentee, suspension and expulsion rates.

 

Teacher Representation – Less experienced teachers are found in highest need schools at high rates, while top performing schools often retain the most experienced educators.

 

Funding – Funding is not distributed equitably to schools based on their individual needs to best support their students, specifically discretionary spending.

 

Classroom Offerings – Some schools lack advanced course offerings like AP and IB courses or lack desired vocational programs.

 

Hope Scholarship Eligibility – The percentage of students eligible for the Hope Scholarship varies widely across schools in the county.

 

Topic: School Discipline

Restorative Discipline Makes Huge Impact in Texas Elementary and Middle Schools >

Helpful terms:

Restorative Discipline – A whole-school relational approach to building school climate and addressing student behavior.

Key Points:

• Restorative discipline helps teachers build relationships and changes the culture and climate of a school

• Talking circles are used to show all students and faculty are valued and have input in decisions

• Closes the school-to-prison pipeline by reducing the number of suspensions

• Respect agreements provide students with empathy and accountability

Helpful terms:

Concentrated Poverty – The poverty rate of an area or school is 40% or more
Exclusionary Zoning – Policy that keeps affordable housing out of neighborhoods through land use and building code requirements

Key Points:

• Exclusionary zoning practice has been around since early 20th century as a vehicle for racial discrimination in the housing sector

• Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, ability, and familial status. Notably, however, it does not prohibit class-based discrimination.

• Exclusionary zoning has expanded into the urban core as wealthy and largely white families move back into cities, pushing the poor and minorities out

• Exclusionary zoning promotes income segregation by creating areas of concentrated poverty and concentrated wealth

 

Helpful terms:

Funding Gap – Shortfall of money/capital needed to fund future operations or projects

 

Key points:

• A national funding gap of $1,500 per student between rich and poor schools has grown 44% since 2001-2002

• Under President Johnson’s War on Poverty, federal dollars were meant to close the poverty gap

• States that rely heavily on property taxes have not figured out a way to close the gap between the rich and poor schools

• Under law, schools are financed through districts but a policy could require states to finance schools comparably between districts