There have been important efforts to expand school vouchers, and a variety of tax subsidies at the state and federal level, based on pledges to equalize opportunity and strengthen schooling for excluded groups. At this event, important new data and original research will assess these claims and provide guidelines for policy development that protect the rights of low-income students and students of color. Research findings will look at the civil rights implications of voucher programs and ask: do vouchers actually expand opportunity or undermine it?
Bringing Civil Rights Research to Bear on Voucher Programs:
Are the Promises Realized?
AGENDA
Introduction: Gary Orfield, Civil Rights Project, UCLA (@CRPatUCLA and @orfieldtweet)
Presentations (7 minutes each):
Private Schools in American Education: A Small Sector Still Lagging in Diversity, Jongyeon Ee, Civil Rights Project, UCLA
Co-authors Gary Orfield and Jennifer Teitell, UCLA
Lessons Learned from Indiana’s Choice Scholarship Program, Mark Berends, Center for Research on Educational Opportunity, Univ. of Notre Dame (@berendma)
Co-authors R. Joseph Waddington, Univ. of Kentucky (@EdStatsGuy) and Megan Austin, American Institutes for Research (@maustin1)
Washington, D.C.’s Opportunity Scholarship Program: Civil Rights Implications, Mary Levy, PhD, budget and policy analyst, DC public education (@MaryLevy17)
Private School Vouchers: Legal Challenges and Civil Rights Protections, Preston Green, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut (@DrPrestonGreen)
Co-author, Kevin Welner, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder (@NEPCtweet)
Commentary: Tom Gentzel, National School Boards Association (@NSBAComm and @Tom_NSBA)
Q&A
Summary and Wrap-up: Gary Orfield