Moving the needle: The Department of Education continues to take small but important steps toward embracing school diversity as a department-wide priority – most recently in its proposed priorities for charter school funding programs, which will add a school diversity priority to some of its future charter funding rounds, and which notes that “a critical component of serving all students, including educationally disadvantaged students, is consideration of student body diversity, including racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity. This proposed regulatory action encourages broad consideration of student body composition, consistent with applicable law, as charter schools are authorized and funded and as best practices are disseminated.” 79 Fed. Reg. 68821 (November 19, 2014)
Comments, comments: We submitted comments on HUD’s MTW program, the Department of Education’s School Improvement Grants program, the Department of Transportation’s metropolitan transportation planning guidance, proposed Community Reinvestment Act guidance at the Treasury Department, and continuing advice to HUD on the AFFH assessment tool.
Other Resources
Webinar on implicit bias in the classroom: “Tools for Teachers: Strategies for Addressing Racial Dynamics in the Classroom” with Perception Institute authors Rachel Godsil and Linda Tropp, sponsored by the National Coalition on School Diversity. Monday, December 15th at noon eastern – register here.Environmental justice victory: Watch this great short documentary, “Out of Deepwood,” about a (former) toxic dump sited next to an African American neighborhood in Dallas (link from the Dallas Morning News).
More on AFFH: A new report from the Opportunity Agenda looks at best practices for affirmatively furthering fair housing.
Section 8 in the St. Louis Region: A timely report from Washington University’s Center for Social Development looks at patterns of Housing Choice Voucher distribution in St. Louis and the St. Louis suburbs.
