Yahoo Finance 'I represent one of the most segregated school districts in America': NY lawmaker on push for equity in education
While racially segregated schools were deemed illegal over six decades ago, many U.S. public schools are segregated not in policy but in practice. That’s why Democratic Congressman Mondaire Jones, who represents New York’s 17th district, is advocating for the Strength in Diversity Act of 2021. Introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, the bill calls for supporting local communities to desegregate public schools.
“I represent one of the most segregated school districts in America. That school district is the East Ramapo Central School District, where approximately 97% of public school students are Black or Hispanic. And you see the disparity in terms of the lack of resources,” he said.
“My district is not unique in that respect. Districts that are segregated almost always feature Black and Brown kids getting the short end of the stick from a resource standpoint. And that has devastating implications for life prospects,” he added.
The proposed legislation calls for support to districts that are developing, implementing, or expanding school diversity initiatives by establishing a grant program that provides federal funding to support voluntary local efforts to increase diversity in schools. The measure also advocates for, among other measures:
Studying segregation, evaluating current policies, and developing evidence-based plans to address socioeconomic and racial isolation
Establishing public school-choice zones, revising school boundaries, or expanding equitable access to transportation for students.
Creating or expanding innovative school programs that can attract students from outside the local area.
Recruiting, hiring, and training new teachers to support specialized schools
Jones tells Yahoo Finance that Black and Brown students who attend segregated schools are at high risk of not reaching their full potential.
“These kids are less likely to go to college and to get good-paying jobs later in life. And by the way, our society-at-large suffers because white students are not enriched educationally from having people of color engage with them socially and share their perspectives in the classroom setting,” he added.
In 2016, according to data from EdBuild, schools with predominantly children of color received $23 billion less than schools with mostly white students, despite serving the same number of children.
Jones also notes that there is a significant disparity in disciplinary actions in U.S. schools. In the 2015-16 school year, Black students accounted for 15% of all students, but 31% of referrals to law enforcement and school-based arrests.
“We must have a broad conception of systemic racism. It extends well beyond policing to include an educational system that is largely funded by property taxes in this country, resulting in the concentration of tens of billions, more dollars in white communities relative to Black and Brown communities.”
Jones is optimistic that the Biden administration will support the Strength in Diversity Act.
“My expectation is that this administration will be supportive of this landmark piece of legislation. It is the logical continuation of the equity-related executive orders that the president has been signing. This is, I think, universally recognized within the Democratic Party as the path forward with respect to racial justice,” he said.
“The foundation for that is the quality education that all kids, regardless of race or income, should have in the wealthiest nation in the world. One where we have told people from the beginning, from our founding, that allows you to be anything you want to be so long as you work hard. The fact is right now, because of the segregation in our schools, Black and Brown kids are having to work so much harder just to reach parity in terms of outcomes,” he said.
Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.
Read more:
The digital divide is 'our version of redlining:' Educator Ronald Chaluisan
How the pandemic drove college students and professors into ‘Zoom University’
How Zoom became ‘critical infrastructure’ for millions of kids learning online
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit
