A PRRAC & National Women's Law Center Report (April 2015). Synopsis: Our nation’s schools remain highly segregated along racial and economic lines, and schools with high concentrations of minority and low-income students generally have fewer resources for academic and extracurricular activities. Opportunities to play sports, which provide valuable benefits, are … [Read more...] about Finishing Last: Girls of Color and School Sports Opportunities (PRRAC & National Women’s Law Center, April 2015)
Browse School Diversity at PRRAC
PRRAC strongly supports federal, state and local efforts to increase racial and economic integration in K-12 education. We do this work primarily with and through the National Coalition on School Diversity (NCSD), which we helped to found in 2009 along with former staff from the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute at Harvard Law School, and leadership of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU. Members of the NCSD Steering Committee include the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, PRRAC, ACLU, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, MALDEF, AALDEF, Kirwan Institute, NY Appleseed, UNC Center for Civil Rights, and the UCLA Civil Rights Project, along with a small group of prominent legal scholars. Since 2009, PRRAC has served as the primary staff and fiscal agent for the NCSD, with active support from many of the NCSD member organizations for specific advocacy campaigns, and volunteer contributions by members of the NCSD Research Advisory Panel.
For more on PRRAC’s work on education and school diversity, visit our page on the Housing-School Nexus.
“A Smarter Charter” by Richard D. Kahlenberg & Halley Potter (November-December 2014 P&R Issue)
By Richard D. Kahlenberg & Halley Potter (Click here to view the entire P&R issue) Supporters of charter schools, which are publicly funded but independently managed, often argue that such schools embody the promise of Brown v. Board of Education because they can provide new opportunities to low-income and minority students. Evidence suggests, however, that … [Read more...] about “A Smarter Charter” by Richard D. Kahlenberg & Halley Potter (November-December 2014 P&R Issue)
The ‘Compelling Government Interest’ In School Diversity: Rebuilding The Case For An Affirmative Government Role (Philip Tegeler, June 2014)
By Philip Tegeler (University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, June 2014). Excerpt: "The Department of Education already has the policy levers it needs to engage more forcefully with states and local districts to promote school diversity and reduce racial and economic isolation in public schools. The Department can exercise its unused Title VI authority to require states … [Read more...] about The ‘Compelling Government Interest’ In School Diversity: Rebuilding The Case For An Affirmative Government Role (Philip Tegeler, June 2014)
“School Integration Requires Cooperation: Some Lessons from New York City” by Khin Mai Aung & David Tipson (May-June 2013 P&R Issue)
By Khin Mai Aung & David Tipson (Click here to view the entire P&R issue) In February 2013, charter school operators across New York City— where we live and work—submitted letters to local parent Community Education Councils announcing plans to site new charter schools. Some operators touted the benefits of racially and economically diverse schools and … [Read more...] about “School Integration Requires Cooperation: Some Lessons from New York City” by Khin Mai Aung & David Tipson (May-June 2013 P&R Issue)
“Race, Anyone? High School Students Can Show the Way” by Lawrence Blum (May-June 2013 P&R Issue)
By Lawrence Blum (Click here to view the entire P&R issue) “Why would slaves be interested in Christianity when we saw that slave owners used Christianity to justify slavery and oppress black people?” asked Hannah, a white student. “Jesus too was oppressed, as blacks were, and God was on the side of oppressed people who would eventually triumph over their oppression … [Read more...] about “Race, Anyone? High School Students Can Show the Way” by Lawrence Blum (May-June 2013 P&R Issue)
