k 12 education bias

Education Inequality: K-12 Disparity Facts

Statistic #1:

African American students are less likely than white students to have access to college-ready courses. In fact, in 2011-12, only 57 percent of black students have access to a full range of math and science courses necessary for college readiness, compared to with 81 percent of Asian American students and 71 percent of white students.

Learn more in these sources:

• College Preparation for African American Students: Gaps in the High School Educational Experience
• U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Data Snapshot: College and Career Readiness

Statistic #2:

Even when black students do have access to honors or advanced placement courses, they are vastly underrepresented in these courses. Black and Latino students represent 38 percent of students in schools that offer AP courses, but only 29 percent of students enrolled in at least one AP course. Black and Latino students also have less access to gifted and talented education programs than white students.

Learn more:

• U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights 2013-14 Civil Rights Data Collection “A First Look”

Statistic #3:

African American students are often located in schools with less qualified teachers, teachers with lower salaries and novice teachers.

• U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Data Snapshot: Teacher Equity

Statistic #4:

Research has shown evidence of systematic bias in teacher expectations for African American students and non-black teachers were found to have lower expectations of black students than black teachers.

• Who Believes in Me? The Effect of Student-Teacher Demographic Match on Teacher Expectations

Statistic #5:

African American students are less likely to be college-ready. In fact, 61 percent of ACT-tested black students in the 2015 high school graduating class met none of the four ACT college readiness benchmarks, nearly twice the 31 percent rate for all students.

• The Condition of College and Career Readiness 2015: African American Students (a joint ACT-UNCF report)

Statistic #6:

Black students spend less time in the classroom due to discipline, which further hinders their access to a quality education. Black students are nearly two times as likely to be suspended without educational services as white students. Black students are also 3.8 times as likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions as white students. In addition, black children represent 19 percent of the nation’s pre-school population, yet 47 percent of those receiving more than one out-of-school suspension. In comparison, white students represent 41 percent of pre-school enrollment but only 28 percent of those receiving more than one out-of-school suspension. Even more troubling, black students are 2.3 times as likely to receive a referral to law enforcement or be subject to a school-related arrest as white students.

• U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Data Snapshot: School Discipline 

Statistic #7:

Students of color are often concentrated in schools with fewer resources. Schools with 90 percent or more students of color spend $733 less per student per year than schools with 90 percent or more white students.

• Unequal Education: Federal Loophole Enables Lower Spending on Students of Color

Statistic #8:

According to the Office for Civil Rights, 1.6 million students attend a school with a sworn law enforcement officers (SLEO), but not a school counselor. In fact, the national student-to-counselor ratio is 491-to-1, however the American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250-to-1.

Learn More:

• American School Counselor Association

Statistic #9:

In 2015, the average reading score for white students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 4th and 8th grade exam was 26 points higher than black students. Similar gaps are apparent in math. The 12th grade assessment also show alarming disparities as well, with only seven percent of black students performing at or above proficient on the math exam in 2015, compared to 32 percent white students.

• The Nation’s Report Card: 2015 NAEP Mathematics & Reading Assessments

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There is a clear lack of black representation in school personnel.  According to a 2016 Department of Education report, in 2011-12, only 10 percent of public school principals were black, compared to 80 percent white. Eighty-two percent of public school educators are white, compared to 18 percent teachers of color. In addition, black male teachers only constitute two percent of the teaching workforce.

• U.S. Department of Education: The State of Racial Diversity in the Workforce

While these statistics are disheartening, UNCF and its partners have developed several recommendations and solutions to alleviate these achievement and opportunity gaps. Read more here:

• Building Better Narratives

American Society for Microbiology

A call to address disparities in k-12 education for black youth.

Feb. 25, 2022

Disparities in early education have existed in the United States since before its inception. Many Black children were barred from classrooms by pre-Civil War laws, and afterward, “Separate but Equal” policies legally segregated the public education system. Today, white flight and housing discrimination prevent equitable access to STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) education for Black children. These issues cause funding disparities among school districts and reinforce bias in selection for Gifted and Talented programs . Despite these challenges, incoming Black undergraduate students declare STEM majors at roughly the same rate as white students. Unfortunately, only 34% of Black students complete their STEM degrees, compared to 58% of white students ( Riegle-Crumb et al. 2019 ). Undergraduate education is a common and necessary focus for inclusive teaching and improving representation within STEM. However, equitable access to STEM education must also begin earlier. As Black women scientists, the authors have witnessed these issues in theirs and their peers’ early education. This piece brings to light disparities in STEM education and highlights strategies that bridge achievement gaps in K-12 learning environments for Black youth.

Unraveling History: Black Youth in American Education Systems

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation , followed by the end of the American Civil War 2 years later. Afterward, the difficult task of reintegrating Southern states into the Union began, also known as the Reconstruction era. This effort led to the Black Codes in the South, laws which restricted the independence of freed Blacks and among other things, solidified a limited and inadequate primary education for Black youth. For example, Black Codes, and later the Jim Crow Laws, excluded Black adults from all professions other than agriculture and domestic service . The educational curricula for Black children focused on limited skills. During Jim-Crow-era segregation, Black schools lacked sufficient funding, and these circumstances placed them at a disadvantage—the Black community suffered as a whole. Subsequent outrage over these inequities fueled the Civil Rights Movement .

Segregated schools in the U.S. were deemed illegal by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 . In its place, a new disadvantage arose via redlining and redistricting . Through housing discrimination, Black families were restricted to live in inner cities or within isolated rural communities. Black children were therefore sequestered into underfunded schools, by way of local school redistricting laws and by the unchecked power of state school boards . A recent report found that, despite serving the same number of students, predominantly non-white school districts receive $23 billion less in funding . This new form of segregation sustains the same differences in accessibility and education that predated Brown v. Board of Education . These lasting effects extend into the 21st century.

Long-term Implications: Disparities in K-12 STEM Education

Due to educator bias at predominately-white schools and/or limited resources at majority-Black schools, American Black youth are less likely to participate in early experiences that promote achievements in STEM. This includes lower engagement in K-12 science fairs and lack of inclusion in Advanced Placement courses or Gifted and Talented programs . This causes feelings of isolation among Black students, who begin to question their value and belonging in STEM. Many enter college at historically white institutions, where elitist/exclusionary cultures further dim their views on science, leading to high attrition rates in STEM . Black scientists operate within systems that have historically excluded them, which makes offsetting these educational inequities a high priority. Increasing the retention of Black youth in STEM will expand the pool of young scientists that target microbiology careers. To achieve these goals, microbiologists need to partner with and support K-12 STEM programs that integrate a culturally responsive approach.

Changing the Tide: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Culturally responsive pedagogy centers education on the student. It empowers students by demonstrating their value, respecting their creativity, encouraging critical thinking and by showing belief in their capability. Zaretta Hammond described it best from a neuro-anthropology perspective in her book, Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain. Ms. Hammond describes how active learning can be used to acknowledge the strong oral cultures of students of color. For example, by using the rhythm of a song or by reciting a poem to help students memorize and make connections with new material. Additionally, culturally responsive pedagogy acknowledges the influence of community and the family unit or “village” upon a student’s success. This approach to enhancing student learning is not new. In an example from the Reconstruction Period, Black teachers in Black schools integrated students’ cultures in their curricula. Black teachers knew their students’ families. They were part of their community, and they valued students’ experiences. Returning to culturally responsive teaching is essential for addressing disparities in STEM education.

Supporting Black Youth: Partners in the Community

Let’s look at some case studies that support underserved Black youth by using culturally responsive pedagogy.

East Harlem Scholars Academies (Harlem, N.Y.) - Curriculum and After-school Program

East Harlem Scholars Academies (EHSA) are a network of K-12 charter schools and after-school programs in Harlem, NY. Almost 100% of their students are from Black and other underrepresented populations. EHSA focuses on building independent, creative, and excited learners . EHSA not only supplies an interactive learning environment, but also leverages culturally responsive pedagogy (See ESHA's guiding principles to improve accessibility ). As an example, some STEM coursework incorporates historical Black figures to help Black youth envision themselves within science careers. To build upon this foundation, EHSA stays connected within the Harlem community, building a “village” of comprehensive support that ensures student success.

Partnership between University City High School & Washington University (St. Louis) - Curriculum & research initiative

At University City High School , 91% of their students are Black youth. They established a partnership with Washington University , which transformed both the school culture and its education quality. Dr. Rowhea Elmesky and Dr. Olivia Marcucci identified the source of University City’s widespread disciplinary issues: an unhealthy culture between teachers and students (lacking trust and respect). In response, they developed an approach focused on restorative justice, trauma-informed care, equity, and culturally responsive education. University City teachers were trained to hold forums that encourage open communication with students and to evaluate the impact of their strategies. As a result, student suspensions were reduced by 41%. Since harsh discipline (such as suspensions) can detrimentally impact academic performance , this also enhances students’ academic success.

Black Girls and STEM Education Research Initiative (Wellesley, Mass.) - After-school Program & Research Initiative

Black Girls & STEM Research Initiative is led by Dr. Lashanda Lindsay at the Wellesley Center for Women, with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Her research analyzes disparities in young Black female success within science programs (grades 6-8). Dr. Lindsay created the after-school program, Black Girls Create , to apply knowledge gained from her research and use these understandings to transform educational methods. Black Girls Create uses digital fabrication projects to help middle-school-age Black female youth gain confidence and interest in STEM. The program integrates an informal learning space and makerspaces to help students build transferable skills, such as creative thinking and problem solving. Additionally, it incorporates social history to encourage meaningful connections. Black Girls Create is another example of community partnerships, both in the design of the program itself (engaging community members to gain trust and recruit participants), as well as through interactions with local female scientists that volunteer as mentors.

Closing Thoughts

Many recent successes in advancing quality education for Black youth are Black-led or integrate Black voices within their leadership. Focusing on K-12 education emphasizes its importance on later career development for Black scientists. The examples provided above have leveraged research that was conducted over more than 3 decades. Yet, although the benefits are clear, culturally responsive pedagogy faces opposition and is rarely used in U.S. public education. To prevent further exclusion of Black talent from science training , increased partnerships are needed between local universities and K-12 programs that support Black youth. For STEM to become inclusive, educators must humanize and center learning on the student. That means prioritizing access to STEM from the very beginning and at every level.

• K-12 Educator
• Undergraduate or Graduate Educator
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Author: Ayana Scott-Elliston, M.S.

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Measuring Implicit Bias in Schools

• Posted August 11, 2020
• By Emily Boudreau

School leaders across the country are reflecting on the conversation about race and racism in America that came to a head this summer, proposing policy changes and professional development . A timely new study from Harvard Ph.D. student Mark Chin and his coauthors, University of Southern California professor David Quinn and Ph.D. student Tasminda Dhaliwal , and Harvard Ph.D. student Virginia Lovison , provides some of the first suggestive quantitative evidence to suggest teachers’ implicit biases may effect student outcomes, underscoring the necessity of these conversations.

“Identifying teachers’ implicit bias is difficult because measuring it is often not part of the review that school districts and school leaders do — it’s not part of the process of looking at teachers in the classroom,” says Chin. He notes that there’s been a lot of theoretical research on teachers’ biases, but quantitative evidence of the relationship between biases and outcomes hasn’t been available until recently. Data on biases from Project Implicit’s white-Black Implicit Associations Test, combined with county-level test score data from the Stanford Education Data Archive and disciplinary outcome data from the Office of Civil Rights provided the team of researchers with an opportunity to probe those connections between bias and outcomes.

Chin and his co-authors present two major findings. However, as this is one of the first studies to quantitatively examine the relationship between bias and student outcomes, stronger causal evidence is needed before drawing firm conclusions and drafting policy. “We can’t say biases are leading directly to disparities. There are potential factors we’re not capturing in our models that could explain the relationship,” he says.

• Teachers with lower anti-Black bias tend to work in counties with more Black students. “This is a positive finding, given that you wouldn’t want teachers with strong anti-Black bias serving more Black students. Our results are also potentially showing an explanation for why Black students who have Black teachers have higher outcomes,” says Chin.
• Areas with stronger pro-white/anti-Black bias among teachers show larger gaps between test scores and in suspension rates for Black and white students. “The mechanism by which bias ends up influencing both sets of outcomes may be different, so I wasn’t convinced beforehand that we’d find a similar result,” said Chin. This finding comes after controlling for factors like differences in socioeconomic status that might influence test scores or discipline.

Implications

Some analyses suggest that smaller interventions to address implicit bias don’t actually result in long-term behavioral change, Chin says. “For an intervention to be useful, we would want to know that it actually leads to lasting changes in behaviors. Otherwise, the intervention may not be a useful investment for schools to spend money on.” 

But this study may underscore the efforts many districts have made to adopt hiring practices that increase the diversity of teachers and school leaders . “Hiring seems like a beneficial lever to pull, given that teachers of color have lower biases, and having more leaders of color in a school might challenge the structures that perpetuate these biases in schools and districts,” says Chin.

With a teaching force that is 75% white , however, it’s also important to focus on supporting white teachers in learning to recognize and monitor their own implicit biases. In the last few months, many policy recommendations have pointed towards implicit bias trainings to effect this change. And yet, as Chin notes, individuals’ biases are formed and perpetuated by systems. “I would argue what’s more important is to ensure the systems in a school, in a district, are set up so they don’t replicate symbols of systemic inequality,” he says. “In the long term, bias training only does so much if society doesn’t change too.”

Additional Resources

• Read more about the study and its findings on the Brookings blog.
• How school leaders can start to address implicit bias.
• Usable Knowledge curates resources for responding to incidents of bias in schools.
• Usable Knowledge on effective anti-bias training.

Usable Knowledge

Connecting education research to practice — with timely insights for educators, families, and communities

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Schooled in racial bias: Unraveling harm in K-12 education

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Transcript of Podcast

Robin Chenoweth: Summer Luckey was a master’s student when she got a window into a problem that some consider the greatest threat to American education.

Summer Lucky: I was at a high school and I was at that time just a practicum student

Robin Chenoweth: {Fighting sounds} There was a fight in the school where she was interning, between two high schoolers. One student was Black. As tempers escalated, that student removed an article of clothing, probably to keep it from ripping, Luckey says.

Summer Luckey: And she just like went for the girl. And afterwards, the administrators of that building, the one who I think might have been the lead principal, said things like, ‘Did you see her? What type of ghetto mess is that?’

Robin Chenoweth: It wasn’t the fight that shocked Luckey. It wasn’t the students’ heated language. What disturbed her most was the principal’s response.

Summer Luckey: I looked at him because I'm thinking like, surely you would catch yourself.

Summer Luckey: But why would you have to label her as ghetto, as a white male administrator, and then to your white female peers? I'm just curious now, what other interactions you've had with students that were primarily of color because the student body was very diverse. What other interactions have you had with them with that rhetoric?

Robin Chenoweth: Only teachers heard him use a term that by definition means low-class, cheap, inferior. The weight of his words, however, would fall squarely upon Black and brown students. This is the Inspire Podcast, a production of the College of Education and Human Ecology. I’m Robin Chenoweth. Carol Delgrosso is our audio engineer.

Robin Chenoweth: Racism in schools is not new. But a flood of research in the last 10 years has brought the problem into sharper focus. Students report being called racial slurs by classmates, being reprimanded when their white counterparts weren’t for congregating in halls or horseplaying, being harassed for wearing hijabs, being forced to read books that include the N- word.

Robin Chenoweth: Ohio State Professor Muhammad Khalifa studies educational administration and how schools can best combat racism through culturally responsive leadership.

Muhammad Khalifa: “We know from federal data that students of color are suspended three, four or five times more than all other students for the same exact offense, and particularly black men are suspended sometimes 15, 20 times more, especially if the particular offense that they're being suspended for is subjective.”

Robin Chenoweth: Students of color are much more likely to be called out, sent to the office and arrested in school. The problem spills into academics. Nationally, Black students are two times less likely than white students to earn advanced placement credit in science, and nearly three times less likely to earn credit in AP math.

Muhammad Khalifa: “If I'm African American boy and I go to advanced calculus class, the teacher has multiple ways of suggesting to me that I don't belong there. If I get an A on a test and they make a big deal out of it, that's a way of tokenizing me, it might be a way of exoticizing, making me seem that I'm not I don't belong there or that there's something strange and magical about me. There are also other ways in which teachers lower expectations on people who look different from them and who are students of color. So, all of these can be traced by various forms of data.”

Robin Chenoweth: And though education researchers know that a sense of belonging is a significant factor for academic success, one in three students in the United States say they feel like outsiders in their own schools.

Muhammad Khalifa: “It impacts the health, the longevity, the life chances, the very humanity of the students. So it's not like not understanding algebraic equations or not having a proper textbook that is age appropriate. It's not like any of those issues. None of those issues are going to stifle, literally take the life opportunities away from people like this issue will. So it's a very deep issue indeed.”

Robin Chenoweth: Educators play an ongoing role in perpetuating racial inequity, often without realizing it. Former teacher and PhD student Christine Hines saw teachers de-escalate tense situations among white students, but then…

Christian Hines: “If a black kid starts standing up, and projecting their voice and getting angry, they're automatically on the school phone, calling the administrator, thinking a fight’s going to breakout. And I'm like, but you didn't do that for the other students. So why did you do that for this kid? And it's always that, well, um… Let's go ahead and say you did it because they were Black. And then I'm just like, you may want to check that or reassess that because that's harmful to the student. And you don't even realize it, because now they have a disciplinary action.”

Robin Chenoweth: How much do you think fear plays into it? Is that a big part of it?

Christian Hines: Oh, it's extremely a big part. It's a lot of what provokes the policing within the schools, because it's a different dynamic number one, when you're in the classroom, and you feel threatened. But even when they're in open spaces, like during hall changing times, during lunchtime. I would literally see teachers who got like hall duty or lunch duty, and they will be afraid to go. Or they stick to one side of the cafeteria, usually the white side. Or they see me or other teachers of color. It doesn't necessarily have to be a black teacher. They're like, “Oh, well, you see this group of kids over there? They’re being kind of loud. Can you go talk to them?” And my first thought in my mind is, “Why can't you talk to them?”

Robin Chenoweth: Of course, nearly all educators go into the profession because they want to help kids. So how can schools deal with racism in a way that uplifts hurting students? Just like Summer Luckey discovered after the school fight she witnessed: Combating bias and discrimination begins with school leadership. It takes a shift from the top to institute any real change. Muhammad Khalifa drew the same conclusion while teaching in Detroit schools.

Muhammad Khalifa: I recognized quickly that if teachers don't have the proper support that, even though they might be equity oriented and they might be oriented to do social justice work in schools or in their classrooms. If they don't have the support they need, if they don't have the resources, if they are being pushed back, and being stifled, then they won't be able to really sustain the work in any engaged type of way.

Robin Chenoweth: He works with fellow scholars at the Culturally Responsive School Leadership Institute to do equity audits — intense explorations on where racial bias is occurring in schools. Then, they find ways to fix it.

Muhammad Khalifa: One of the reasons that is so bad in American schools is that educators by and large don't know how to address it or how to solve it. So I look at specific reasons that the equity data might be low for service to groups or for certain races or for certain language groups of students, not just if it's happening, and where it's happening, but why?

Robin Chenoweth: Once the gaps are identified, administrators are trained to fix them. Lesson No. 1? Don’t forget whom you’re serving. Looking at equity data alone misses the point.

Muhammad Khalifa: A lot of the models of equity audits out there do not engage student voice at all, they don't even get engaged parent experiences or voices at all. And then they go and make recommendations to a district based on just what teachers and leaders are saying. And that's exactly what my research pushes up against. So, for leaders to to act without collaboration deep collaboration with folks in the community and with students is a problem, and that's part of the problem why these equity problems are showing up the ways that they do, and are so sustained and are so stubborn.

Robin: Involving the community is time consuming. It’s difficult. It requires resources. And it’s absolutely necessary to pull schools out of the ruts they’ve been channeled into concerning race.

Khalifa: What our students coming to school with, what are the histories and experiences in the neighborhoods, and in their families that schools need to know about in order to best serve them

within the school? What are those experiences and those real life histories, both lived and ancestral histories and languages? What is it that school leaders need to know in order to be able to lead schools effectively — lead schools effectively? what do they need to know about the community and the students in order to lead schools, effectively. So these kind of questions have just not been asked by educators, up until very recently and even now is a very small number of educators who are even asking this question, and these types of questions.

Robin Chenoweth: A very compelling piece of the institute work that Khalifa does is giving students the opportunity to guide the process.

Muhammad Khalifa: We do something called youth participatory action research. It gives the power of students to investigate their own context, both school and community context, to decide what they want to study, to begin to collect that data and then to present that data in powerful ways to the district personnel who are now hearing and we have agreed that these students should be empowered. Because of course, these students already have the power it's just whether or not it will be recognized by people in schools.

Robin Chenoweth: When Cynthia DeVese became the educational equity coordinator at Westerville City Schools seven years ago, the district had been hit with an unsettling report.

Cynthia DeVese: “There were a lot of disparities that basically mirrored what we're seeing nationally and statewide.

Robin Chenoweth: Disparities in disciplinary actions, in academic offerings to students of color, in how accepted some students felt in the school.

Cynthia DeVese: “So we knew that we needed to address it, then. And so that's when we began our work.”

Robin Chenoweth: DeVese — who is now also a doctoral student in the college — decided to get close up to the problems, studying them in the schools for a year. What the district needed, she decided, was to confront its systemic and implicit bias.

Cynthia DeVese: “We needed to have courageous conversations about our cultural mindset of our leaders. And so one of the things that we really wanted to do was start with our administrators and secondary leadership team, because we knew that in order for us to sustain the work for the long haul, we needed to get our leadership up to par In regards to how do we feel? And what do we believe? And what do we need to move forward in order to be able to tackle some of the gaps that we saw?

Robin Chenoweth: The district worked with the Kirwan Institute, and then in 2020, with Ohio State’s College of Education and Human Ecology, to begin conversations with teachers and staff.

Cynthia DeVese: “So we really dug deep into what does implicit bias look like? How do prejudices reside in us? We looked at the brain and how it plays in our brain. And we looked at media with that, how these things are ingrained in us over a period of time.

Cynthia DeVese: We needed people to be aware that their decisions, right, could be impacted by something that they already have a bias to from outside sources, but then that plays on their decision-making capabilities in the classroom. And we need people to understand that clearly, so that they can be aware. So that when they need to make a decision, then they wouldn't be biased towards any students, but specifically those students who are marginalized.

Robin Chenoweth : Be the Change Professional Development Series for Educators was offered to thousands of teachers in Central Ohio, including Westerville Schools.

Robin Chenoweth: So I'm wondering if there was any piece that just kind of made them stop and go, Oh, that's me, or I did that.

Cynthia DeVese: In the module, there is a piece that was created specifically around the time of George Floyd. And it was giving students a voice, and they created student vignettes. And those student vignettes, were voice the voices of students in Central Ohio, who took to social media during the George flowing moment, to express their thoughts about the school system. We asked several students in our district if they can record their voice to these written vignettes. And so every person who went through the module had to hear the student's voice, about their story. Their stories were about curriculum, their voice, their stories were about how they were treated by students,

Student 1: A Black friend of mine said he is so used to people calling him the N-word and asking for a pass that it doesn’t even affect him anymore, even though he is only a freshman. He told me he used to cry about it, and not understand, but now he just deals with it.”

Cynthia DeVese: how they were treated by teachers or educators in our district,

Student 2: “I get racist remarks almost daily and I have reported to school counselors, teachers and administrators multiple times just this last semester. And every single time they say they will look into it and give consequences. But nothing ever gets done.

Cynthia DeVese: Someone talked about how, as a student, they wanted support from a teacher because they felt alienated, right, because of who they were because of their race, or because of their gender, or because of their sexual orientation.

Student 3: I was burying my face in my sweater, trying not to cry.

Cynthia DeVese: And then they had to write a letter to the student addressing that. What would you do? How would you write a student who shared their voice today? What would you say? Those elements in that workshop, were just very powerful. Teachers walked away, saying it was heavy, but they needed to hear it, they needed to experience it, for them to begin to make change.

Robin Chenoweth: That gave me chill bumps when you said that you put the students voices to those quotes.

Robin Chenoweth: So is it changing your curriculum or your policies there at the schools?

Cynthia DeVese: It certainly has. This work has evolved over the seven years that I've been here. And we're seeing that what we have changed our policies, when it comes to our achievement, and getting our students into accelerated or advanced courses. When I first started here, there were prerequisites, you had to have a teacher recommend you for a course or you had to have a certain score. Now we in our secondary spaces that has been removed, and any student who wants to try or to be able to excel and to get into these spaces, they're open.

Robin Chenoweth: Books containing racial slurs have been put on pause, at the students’ request. Each school has an equity team with teachers, counselors, principals, parents and students. They make decisions together. Their efforts have begun to have an impact. And the data are bearing it out.

Cynthia DeVese: We have implemented different strategies and support systems, so that we're not at this space where Black and Brown students are three times more likely to be disciplined. So we're having conversations to make sure that our policies and our practices are equitable. And that's very important for us.

Robin Chenoweth: To learn more about the Be the Change Professional Development Series for Educators, created by Ohio State’s College of Education and Human Ecology, contact Nicole Luthy at [email protected]

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Teachers are people too: Racial bias among American educators

Subscribe to how we rise, jordan g. starck , jgs jordan g. starck graduate student - princeton university @jstarck4 travis riddle , tr travis riddle post-doctoral research fellow - princeton university @triddle42 stacey sinclair , and ss stacey sinclair professor of psychology & public affairs - princeton university natasha warikoo natasha warikoo lenore stern professor in the social sciences - tufts university @nkwarikoo.

July 13, 2020

The recent protests in the wake of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of police have led to growing awareness, especially among non-Black Americans, of the lived experiences of African Americans and ongoing racism and racial inequality. School districts, nonprofits, and even corporate firms have released statements to both staff and the public about their alliance with the movement to end racism.

When Americans envision a country without racism and racial inequality, many look to schools. We imagine that schools can and should build interracial understanding and teach children not to be racist, believing that this will end racism in the long run. Many teachers are indeed on board with this vision.

But there’s a problem with this vision. Schools and the teachers in them are embedded in our racist society. Decades of writing, hand-wringing, and attempts to address the racial inequality produced in schools have only been minimally successful. Why?

In a recent study , we hypothesized that one piece of this puzzle is the racial bias that many teachers hold. We directly tested teachers’ levels of bias–general attitudes or feelings toward different racial groups–and compared their biases to those of other Americans. We wanted to know, given their dedication to learning and for many, dedication to racial equity, would teachers less frequently show racial bias than other Americans?

We found that that teachers are people too. That is, teachers hold, on average, pro-white/anti-Black bias at levels comparable to those of the general population.

To assess the magnitude of racial bias among teachers, we conducted two studies: one with a large sample of 68,930 teachers (and over 1.5 million non-teachers) who visited Project Implicit —a large-scale effort to evaluate implicit bias through self-administered, web-based tests—and the other with a sample of teachers and non-teachers from a smaller, nationally representative dataset . Our most precise raw estimates showed that about 30% of respondents (including both teachers and non-teachers) expressed explicit pro-white/anti-Black bias and 77% expressed implicit pro-white/anti-Black bias.

In both studies, we statistically compared teachers to non-teachers with similar characteristics, including age, level of education, and political identity. We found statistically discernible differences between teachers and non-teachers in only two of the five bias measures we utilized across our studies. However, even those differences were negligible, dwarfed by the differences between white and Black respondents (74 times larger) and between conservative and liberal respondents (46 times larger).

In other words, teachers’ biases very much mirror those of non-teachers.

These biases matter. Other research shows that teachers’ implicit racial/ethnic biases are associated with lower expectations of students , worse instruction quality and pedagogical choices, and less concern for fostering mutually respectful classroom environments . These factors negatively impact the academic achievement of minority students . There is also evidence suggesting bias contributes to the documented disparities in how minority students are disciplined . Not only do these biases directly impact students’ educational experiences, but students’ perceptions that their teachers hold biases against them can adversely affect their academic engagement .

Teachers need to be supported and assisted in contending with their racial biases. Failing to do so and attempting a colorblind approach will only further perpetuate racial disparities in education. So, what are some possible strategies to contend with racial bias in schools?

One oft-used approach is to educate our teachers about bias and methods for reducing bias. Academics, educators, and diversity professionals have created abundant educational materials and trainings to that end. The former diversity trainer among this post’s authors can attest to the fact that raising people’s awareness, concern, and pronounced commitment to diversity is imminently doable.

But the research literature also clearly indicates that we should not expect awareness-raising programming to be a silver bullet. To the contrary, bias training alone can also contribute to stereotyping and can make people overconfident that organizations are fair and equitable . Some may also respond to programs to address racial inequality with perceptions of reverse discrimination. Overall, we simply do not yet have good data about how to substantially, reliably, and enduringly reduce people’s biases in a way that can be implemented at scale.

The limits of these trainings point to the importance of understanding racial bias as produced by social systems, not just individuals. Racial inequality is built into American society through social policies , the criminal justice system , residential segregation , and indeed, our education system . These biased systems and the inequalities they produce in turn instill and sustain bias within individuals.

So long as the labels “poor,” “Black,” “inner city,” and “failing” connote a largely overlapping subset of schools in our society, Black students will continue to be associated with troublemaking, academic underperformance, and criminality in our society. Neither a diversity training nor an individual school alone will be able to change these societal biases that express themselves in our teaching force. Rather, policies targeted at the root causes of racial inequality are necessary to mitigate racial bias effectively over time.

So what can schools do in the meantime?

The most promising approach for schools seeking to address bias is to better manage the bias we know exists in the teaching force. Decades of research have shown how and when people’s biases “leak out” and affect their judgments and behaviors. For example, we know that biases are most likely to impact judgment and behavior when a situation is ambiguous or lacking in accountability , or when an individual is cognitively taxed (e.g., fatigued, distracted) . These insights, paired with the cautions contained in the research literature, can point to practices that can reduce the extent to which teachers’ biases affect student outcomes.

For example, providing teachers more time to grade assignments, encouraging them to utilize clear rubrics, and asking them to provide explanations for students’ grades might all work to reduce the extent to which teachers’ biases affect the grades students receive. These sorts of research-based recommendations may take considerable skill and expertise to implement in effective ways, and they will need to be evaluated in real-world contexts in order to assess their efficacy. As such, educators, researchers, and policymakers must work more closely together if we are to identify and execute scalable practices to break the links between teacher biases and student outcomes.

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The Hidden Racial Bias in K-12 Education

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The Supreme Court might have ended race-based affirmative action in higher education, but as students return to the classroom this fall, the next frontier in the debate over discrimination in education and at work is already at our doorstep in K-12 public schools.

In his majority opinion in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard , Chief Justice Roberts wrote, “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” The only way to achieve that constitutional imperative is for public school boards and superintendents to take a close look at the way they staff America’s K-12 classrooms.

A new report from the National Opportunity Project identifies widespread discrimination in public school employment practices. After reviewing responses to a litany of public records requests, evaluating job posts, and examining hiring criteria, the National Opportunity Project found that school districts are using divisive social and political ideologies, and in some instances race, to drive hiring decisions.

The biased K-12 hiring practices often stem from the en vogue “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” or DEI, initiatives that have been adopted by school boards and administrators in recent years. Once thought to be prevalent only in higher education, research by the National Opportunity Project demonstrates the trickle-down effect of discriminatory higher education practices; they eventually are adopted by K-12 public schools.

Many school districts fail to prioritize candidates’ educational and professional qualifications, and instead focus on applicants’ answers to questions about poorly-defined political causes such as “social justice” and “equity.” For example, in suburban Chicago, Evanston Township High School requires that “applicants must demonstrate a commitment to social justice, equity, excellence and high expectations for all students.”

In Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, teacher candidates are asked, “What does equity mean to you? How do you plan to keep equity at the center of your classroom?” Responses that show strong agreement with DEI concepts like “equity journey,” “equity work,” and “understand that race is a social construct” are rated more highly on a scoring rubric. This is just a small deviation from the race-based numerical rating system that was outlawed by the Supreme Court more than 20 years ago in Gratz v. Bollinger.

Hiring committees are also instructed to assemble teaching staff that reflect certain politics, social ideologies, and racial backgrounds. City Schools of Decatur in Georgia directs school leaders to staff hiring teams for racial and gender equity by “ensur[ing] that there is at least one person of color and one woman or gender-fluid individual on the interview panel. Individuals who embody other aspects of diversity should be included as well.”

The practical effect of these policies is that teachers in many of America’s K-12 schools are not being selected based on their teaching ability or experience connecting with our country’s youngest and most vulnerable. Instead, we’re selecting teachers based on subjective, quasi-political, and sometimes illegal criteria that have nothing to do with reading, writing, and math. Plus, these types of hiring practices stifle true diversity and result in a homogenous teaching staff educating from only one ideological perspective.

America is the land of opportunity, a place where free speech and free thought are to be protected and encouraged. No matter your political stripes, we all should find these hiring practices alarming and at odds with our fundamental values.

What’s more, as the Supreme Court recently reminded us, straightforward racial discrimination is unconstitutional. And trying to smuggle such discrimination through code words like “equity” is still problematic. As the Supreme Court has stated, “What cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. The Constitution deals with substance, not shadows.”

It’s past time to address these discriminatory hiring practices in K-12 schools. The college students fighting to end affirmative action wanted all students to be seen for who they are beyond their demographics. In the same vein, what makes good teachers must be determined by examining their qualifications, their track records, their education, and their commitment to achieving the best outcomes for their students. Teacher applicants should not—and considering recent Supreme Court precedent, cannot—be judged, ranked, or hired based on their race, gender, creed, or political views.

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Preventing and Responding to Bias and Hate Incidents in K-12 Educational Settings: A Toolkit for School & Community Leaders

Everyone deserves safe and inclusive learning environments free of harassment and discrimination. Well-designed and facilitated opportunities for groups to dialogue can enable communities to address differences, through respectful sharing of perspectives that move toward solutions focused on the common good.

Best practices for difficult conversations

• Redesign meeting formats to include smaller meetings or breakout sessions
• Provide multiple opportunities for community members to dialogue together
• Develop ground rules that emphasize civil and respectful discourse, designate positions with clear roles (facilitator, timekeeper, etc.), and announce specific meeting topics and purpose
• Use experienced facilitators who can defuse tensions, reframe issues, and help participants discuss solutions
• Use co-facilitators for large groups or break out groups to address the needs of all participants
• Recognize that groups may not be ready to collaborate on solutions if they don’t feel that they have been heard
• Create a process for community groups to collaborate on solutions
• Ask CRS for meeting design, facilitation support, or training on Facilitating Meetings Around Community Conflict

Host a public solidarity event against hate and bias

Where appropriate and safe, public events and virtual convenings can be used to raise awareness on bias and hate impacting communities.

• Host a community forum, facilitated dialogue, listening session, or email tip box related to bias and hate for survivors, supporters, and allies to express their concerns
• Share existing information and resources on bias and hate such as local commissions, programs, and community-based organizations
• Invite other stakeholders such as faith leaders, community leaders, and law enforcement

Be prepared for possible unrest, bias incidents, and hate crimes

Identify and prepare for events where there may be an increased potential for hate or bias incidents.

• Educate community members on reporting procedures, hate crime laws, and best practices
• Alert local law enforcement about threats and other potential criminal activity. Meet with law enforcement to learn about what and how to report
• Coordinate plans for possible emergency situations such as targeted violence, hate crimes, and demonstrations with the potential for violence
• Be aware of community events, observances, and holidays that may influence patterns of gathering and travel
• Review materials and communications for language accessibility and translation needs
• Practice your response plan to identify missing links and areas of improvement
• Inform law enforcement and community leaders of significant areas that may be targeted, including schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, and places of worship

Reduce the toll that bias and hate can have on the mental and physical well-being of impacted groups

• Have your working group engage with experts to ensure a common understanding of when and how mental health resources may be used
• Provide mental health resources to survivors and members of communities experiencing bias and hate
• Familiarize your working group with local law enforcement processes for working with suspects with mental health issues
• Ensure response personnel have access to mental health and trauma support
• Ensure survivor and witness resources are culturally appropriate

Equip schools to respond to bias and hate incidents

• Encourage your school to have a cyberbullying and harassment policy
• Train school officials on bias and hate incident reporting and investigation procedures
• Reach out to impacted students

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More Information

Toolkit: Preventing and Responding to Bias and Hate Incidents in K-12 Education Settings  (PDF)

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A Troubling Lack of Diversity in Educational Materials

The author of a new report on the representation of social groups in educational materials shares a few things teachers can do to ensure that all of their students are reflected in class resources.

Teaching and learning experts have emphasized the importance of cultural responsiveness in fostering engaging learning experiences for students. Educators who use this approach make connections between the curriculum and students’ experiences, affirm and integrate students’ culture in the environment, build on their preexisting knowledge and skills to learn content, and enhance their accurate knowledge of diverse people and different perspectives.

In a recent New America research report titled “ The Representation of Social Groups in U.S. Educational Materials and Why It Matters ,” I conducted a meta-analysis of research that addresses how culturally responsive materials support student learning and how different social groups are represented within educational materials. These findings generated takeaways that can be applied to educational settings.

Mirrors and Windows

When describing children’s experiences with literature, Rudine Sims Bishop popularized the concept of “mirrors and windows,” which researchers and educators still apply. Mirrors refer to materials that make connections with students’ daily experiences, whereas windows expose students to and help them acknowledge and appreciate different contexts and cultures.

Students may identify with characters based on familiar circumstances and life experiences, similar personalities, shared hobbies, common heritages, and social identity such as race, ethnicity, and gender. When materials are mirrors, students are more positively engaged in their learning process (i.e., asking questions and completing assignments).

Culturally responsive materials can enhance students’ engagement, improve their academic achievement, and support their written and oral language development and reading comprehension. Materials that are mirrors can serve as bridges to materials that are windows. Students also value learning about people who have different circumstances, perspectives, and cultures.

Some researchers define educational materials as “societal curriculum” because they indirectly teach students about cultures, languages, attitudes, behaviors, and society’s expectations of and values attributed to them and different people based on social identity markers. Characters also influence children’s racial/ethnic and gender identity development and their understanding of different racial, ethnic, and gender groups.

Representation of Social Groups

When examining windows and mirrors available for different racial, ethnic, and gender groups, research indicates an underrepresentation and patterns of limited and narrow portrayals of characters from certain social groups, even with some progress.

Studies of children’s books indicate that most of the characters within the sample are White, ranging from half to 90 percent of the illustrations. Characters who represent Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities are about 10 percent of the illustrations or fewer, with some ethnic and racial groups featured at 1 percent. Textbook analyses indicate that European White Americans are featured in half or more of pictorials and illustrations (in some cases more than 80 percent), and people of BIPOC communities are featured less frequently, with some groups featured as low as 1 percent. Both cases differ from U.S. Census demographics.

Research typically examines gender from a female/male binary perspective. Studies from the 20th century to the present indicate a fluctuation of representation, with some periods featuring males more than females (sometimes twice as much), and other times there is a balance. One study that examined gender representation in award-winning books found no nonbinary characters, whereas a study that focused on LGBTQ-themed books found transgender characters represented.

Educational software also reveals a similar gender disparity, with males in some cases presented twice as much or more than females. One study highlighted a gradual decrease in female character representation between pre-K and 12th grade. When examining the intersection of racial/ethnic and gender identities, findings in children’s books reveal that characters of color are often males, and female characters are often White.

Researchers identified patterns of narrow and problematic portrayals, and also promising and positive depictions that may vary with each racial and ethnic group, such as mixing elements of tribal groups when presenting Native Americans or Asian Americans in lifestyles from several centuries in the past.

Educational texts may use a “heroes and holiday” approach in recognizing different heritages, focusing on celebrations and historical figures. In some cases, texts portray members of certain communities in the United States as not American. Other studies note inaccurate and/or incomplete information regarding the portrayal of people, events, and cultures.

Female characters are often presented as passive, dependent, and submissive, and engaged in activities that include shopping, cooking, and caretaking. However, there is a shift toward portraying females as more active and engaged in a variety of roles. Nonbinary and transgender characters are rarely portrayed, and those characters of intersectional racial/ethnic and gender identities may be presented in limiting and problematic portrayals, with occasional affirming depictions.

Applying Findings to Educational Settings

The report concluded with three takeaways that can inform educators of strategies to implement in their settings.

Create a sense of belonging:  A fuller story of the United States, its people, and demographic subgroups is needed. Affirm that students are part of learning environments and communities by including U.S. demographic subgroups in American history curricula and educational materials generally. Educators should ensure that materials reflect American people, history, current events, and society and provide a balance of windows and mirrors.

Develop cultural authenticity: Scholars noted the cultural background of content creators and if they shared the same background as the primary characters. When choosing and developing educational materials, examine the characters, their activities, and the creator’s ability to authentically represent complex depictions. This could mean creating a vetting system for materials and curricula to ensure that they are authentic and accurate.

Recognize nuanced identity: Details of stories and characters, such as interactions and relationships between characters, names, clothing, and variation within groups, are important and can support students in identifying, relating, and connecting to a variety of careers, disciplines, and hobbies. Educators can curate a list of culturally responsive materials that offer opportunities to connect and identify with characters.

Culturally responsive education, when done well with intention, makes all students feel they are a part of the educational community.

Anti-Bias Education

Supporting structures, supports offered.

Roots ConnectED addresses systems of oppression at the root. Their Anti-Bias Education model uses curriculum, classroom practices, and deep Community Building with all stakeholders to identify and dismantle the thinking and ideology that contributes to bias and discrimination before it gives way to harmful acts of oppression. The Anti-Bias Education model is centered on identity and inclusion, and acts as a means for transforming communities to be more just, equitable, and connected. The framework and its tools are holistic and intended for longterm integration throughout the curriculum and environment.

The Anti-Bias Education model seeks to build towards a new reality, where all feel seen and accepted as their authentic selves, and systems are equitable and enable access across differences. A dual process of personal and collective transformation supports students and adults in developing the attitudes and behaviors that dismantle oppression and sustain hope for a new reality. Dual Process for Change Tree of Love

While it is too early to measure outcomes from Roots ConnectED’s 22 coaching partnerships, satisfaction data is promising. They offer various professional development through coaching, institutes, and online workshops to schools interested in implementing the model.

• Integrated Identity
• Civic & Social Engagement
• Relationship Skills
• Adult Capacity & Well-being
• Culturally Relevant Practices
• Self-Exploration
• 1:1 Coaching & Consulting
• Cohort Learning Communities
• Professional Development
• School Visits

What Makes this Model Innovative?

Affirmation of self & others, high expectations with unlimited opportunities for all, social consciousness & action, collections featuring this model.

Culturally responsive practices affirm students’ diverse backgrounds and perspectives. These practices center traditionally marginalized communities in classroom instruction and result in all students developing impactful critical thinking skills that support not only their academic success but also their lifelong learning.

Related Models

Adelante Student Services

Adelante Student Services supports all students to rise up by aligning academic, behavioral, and social-emotional approaches to ensure students and their families are provided integrated and responsive interventions attuned to their specific needs.

ARISE’s founders and staff believe that all children deserve a quality education that doesn’t replicate inequitable and oppressive institutions. As a result, they’ve developed a rigorous, high engagement, authentic learning experience for all students. In order for every student to meet the high expectations that ARISE holds, a thorough system of support is critical. While the entire school is designed to make the educational experience highly personalized, attentive, and responsive, Adelante Student Services, in particular, provides intensive support to help  students move forward. 

Adelante is a Spanish adverb that means movement and commonly expresses two ideas: “salir adelante” and “sacar adelante” (in English, ”get ahead”). These two sayings encourage the development of self and the overcoming of obstacles. They are often used to push a person’s development. 

Adelante Student Services works within the whole school community to create the conditions, procedures, and resources to support struggling students academically and socio-emotionally.The Response to Intervention system includes the following structures: Academic Mentorship, Advisory, and Restorative Justice Praxis. ARISE offers site visits, coaching, and professional development to support implementation of their model.

• Practical Life Skills
• Cognitive Thinking Skills
• Community Circles
• Restorative Practices
• Multi-Tiered Support Systems

The Roots ConnectED Anti-Bias Education model gives tools and practices for developing an attitude of wonder and the skills needed to care for others in search of justice, unity, and a new reality, where all feel seen and accepted as their authentic selves, and systems are equitable and enable access across differences.  

The Tree of Love conceptualizes this vision and expands the definitions of each aim. Tree of Love

Attitude of Wonder

Understanding one’s stories, identity, and intersectionality. Maintaining a learning stance (even about one’s own mindset), listening to the stories of others without making assumptions, and genuinely seeking diverse perspectives.

Care for Others

Understanding interconnectedness and the importance of building community. Creating authentic relationships with people from all walks of life, feeling empathy for others, and seeking out ways to be of service in one’s community.

Justice Seeking

Engaging in continual critical analysis and self-reflection. Seeing one’s role in social action, addressing biases, and speaking up against harm.

Operating from a deep understanding that all humanity is part of one human family. Committing to a culture of trust, empathizing with and supporting one another in challenges, celebrating one another’s successes, and orienting around community.

Community Building

Community Building is closely tied to the ongoing identity work being carried out by adults and children in school. Community Building involves creating brave spaces where children can take part in story-telling and forge connections across lines of difference. Community Building Overview

In a class where meaningful Community Building is taking place:

• Students demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities.
• Students recognize the value of honoring others’ stories and perspectives. 
• Teachers are intentional about setting class norms that create a safe and brave environment for open conversations. Community Building Elements

As part of the Community Building process, students explore the tension in how they view themselves and how others view them, and how that tension impacts their experiences. Through genuine sharing and introspection, their Community Building work allows them to tap into experiences other than their own and practice honoring others’ stories.

Representation

Anti-Bias Education involves actively creating opportunities to learn from those who identify in a variety of ways. Students listen to others’ experiences and perspectives with the aim of building understanding and connection, as well as informing and widening their own perspectives. They are mindful that they don’t rest any group’s experience or perspective on a single person. Instead, they seek to understand an experience from multiple perspectives. Representation Overview

Through Representation, teachers aim to build empathy in their students, who when exposed to multiple perspectives and stories, will:

• Express comfort and joy with human diversity 
• Use accurate language for human differences
• Form deep, caring connections across all dimensions of human diversity 

Children build empathy for the people around them when they are given an opportunity to understand their story and experiences. Children feel empowered to bring their full authentic selves to class when they see themselves represented in the curriculum.

Critical Literacy

Critical Literacy in the classroom begins with teachers interrogating their own implicit biases and considering power, positionality, and perspective in reading the world around them. Teachers foster the capacity to critically identify bias in classroom texts and other resources by giving students the tools to question what they read, see, and hear. Critical Literacy Overview

Through Critical Literacy:

• Students have language to describe what injustice looks like and how it impacts people.
• Students recognize power, positionality, and perspective in texts they read.
• Students push back on generalizations they see being made about groups of people.
• Students deconstruct unjust ideas and reconstruct the world they want to see.

When children are given the tools to think critically about their surroundings, they can dispute systems of power that are oppressive. Critical Literacy encourages reflection, transformation, and action in children as they work to promote a more just and equitable world.

Social Action

A core goal of Anti-Bias Education is to empower children to become active agents of change—to realize that their actions, big or small, have the power to transform interactions as well as systems and structures. Social Action Overview

Children have an innate desire to create positive change in their communities and the world at large. They have a keen sense of justice and want things around them to be just and fair. Educators must nurture that inclination in children by allowing them to take part in actions, small or large, that lead to transformation. Teaching Social Action

In a class where Social Action is nurtured and encouraged:

• Teachers expose students to various forms of action. 
• Teachers cultivate students’ ability to stand up for themselves and others in the face of bias and injustice.
• Students understand that they can stand up against discriminatory words or actions in a variety of ways to make a change.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Through the lens of UDL, educators cultivate all students’ understanding of themselves as learners. This is done by creating choice and access throughout the curriculum and physical space. Through UDL, students understand that each person learns in different ways and can make informed choices for their learning and social-emotional development. UDL Overview

In a class where UDL is being implemented:

• Students can make a plan for their learning because the goal of their work is clear and they have the means to achieve that goal. 
• Students see themselves as members of an interdependent community.
• Students see their success and liberation as tied to their peers, not in competition with them.

If children cannot access the curriculum, it does not matter how well thought out the curriculum is—it will not serve them. Implementing UDL informs how students are grouped, options for learning, and the development of empathy for others. It helps to ensure classrooms are safe spaces for kids to take risks, academically and socially, when we subscribe to the belief that there is no average . Access to learning ceases to be a barrier to understanding, growth, and building community. The Myth of the Average Learner

This model can be integrated into a school’s existing overall design but will require shifts in curriculum and instruction, as well as shifts in adult mindsets, school culture, and family engagement.

• Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment
• School Community & Culture
• Adult Roles, Hiring, & Learning
• Family & Community Partnerships
• Space & Facilities

Anti-Bias Education is not an addition to curricula, but it is an underpinning lens that permeates all aspects of a school. 

The Anti-Bias Education model helps schools integrate notions of justice and power, as well as the examination of history from multiple perspectives, throughout the school day and within the curriculum, as opposed to these things being isolated to one month or one class during one hour of a day. It helps schools develop curricula that are culturally relevant and that provide routine opportunities for students to examine their biases. They created a curricular scope and sequence that achieve these goals for the model’s learning site, Community Roots. Social Justice Scope & Sequence

Anti-Bias Education requires a shift in both culture and mindsets, and this takes both individual and collective work.

In addition to the shift in curriculum, instruction, and professional development, Anti-Bias Education requires a shift in culture and mindsets. Such a shift requires ongoing work to understand one’s own biases, power, and positionality. Culture shift requires committing to working collaboratively toward collective transformation. Dual Process for Change

Because mindset and culture shifts require deep, ongoing work, schools and educators who wish to work with Roots ConnectED must believe in and commit to the long process and deeper work rather than quick fixes to create transformational, systemic change. In addition, they must see the role of deep personal transformation as critical to the work of collective transformation.

Adults must have meaningful learning experiences that connect to practice in order to shift pedagogy and culture. 

Across all their offerings, Roots ConnectED focuses on the parallel experiences of all stakeholders in a school community while also recognizing that adults are a key lever in shifting schools. This means that, during professional learning offerings, teachers and other adults have the same experiences they aspire for students to have—Community Building, Representation, Critical Literacy, Social Action, and UDL—and engage in similar activities. These activities include exploring their own identities and biases, as well as how systems of oppression can appear within schools, and then moving into strategies for building an Anti-Bias curriculum and school culture. These activities enable adults to transform personally and collectively.

Roots ConnectED facilitators model practices like co-teaching and utilize UDL to create learning opportunities for adults. All of these elements bring the school community together to collaboratively imagine, design, and implement practices and curricula that honor and center students’ personal, cultural, and community experiences. All trainings include c onnection to research and theory, community building and deep human connection, seeing theory in practice, and reflection and application to individual classrooms and school sites.

Deep community building with all families is critical to fostering the trust required to engage in difficult conversations.

Roots ConnectED believes that deep Community Building with families is critical to fostering trust and enables school communities and families to engage in difficult conversations. Roots ConnectED uses their INTENT framework to provide a structure for creating and sustaining family programming that builds authentic community.   INTENT Framework

Community Roots—Roots ConnectED’s learning site—has reimagined parent engagement and moves beyond a PTA and the large school events typically seen in parent programming . They intentionally create intimate spaces for families to connect, build community, and participate in the culture of the school in a very real way. Ways to Engage and Include All Families

The physical space must be accessible so students drive their own learning.

Roots ConnectED offers the following supports to help you implement their model.

Cost Associated

One-on-one coaching gives schools deeper support and strategic planning around practices of Anti-Bias Education and inclusion. Coaching is catered to the individual needs of the school. Roots ConnectED offers three models of short- and long-term coaching options across a wide range of topics and can include a train-the-trainer model. Coaching Testimonial

Educational Institutes are designed to share theory and practice with small working groups from school sites who are in a place to shift school practice in an intentional way. Strategic working teams of 3-5 individuals spend time together in 1- to 3-day intensive trainings designed to share school integration practices. Roots ConnectED offers the following institutes: 

• Centering Our Humanity: Anti-Bias Culture and Curriculum Institute
• Inclusive Practices Institute
• Community Building Institute
• New Leader Training Institute

Educator Workshops are one-time immersion opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of Roots ConnectED’s work and approach. Workshops span a number of different topics and allow educators, school leaders, and/or school support staff to do a deep dive into one area of focus.  Roots ConnectED also offers online workshops that you can access anytime asynchronously. Workshop Testimonial

School Visit

The Creation of Roots ConnectED was inspired by the work of Community Roots, an intentionally racially and economically integrated public charter school in Brooklyn, NY, which continues to serve as the first learning site for the model. Their relationship is cyclical as the work of each informs the other in practice.  School visits are often embedded into other programming offered at Roots ConnectED. 

Although it is too early to measure outcomes from Roots ConnectED’s multi-year coaching partnerships, satisfaction for professional development programming, as measured by participant surveys, is extremely high: 

• 93.9% of Institute participants responded 5 (on a scale from 1 to 5) when asked, “How likely are you to recommend a Roots ConnectED Institute to an interested colleague or friend?” 
• 89.6% of Educator Workshop participants responded 4 or 5 (on a scale from 1 to 5) when asked, “How likely are you to recommend a Roots ConnectED Workshop to an interested colleague or friend?”

In addition, at the founding school, Community Roots Charter School, results are promising. NYC DOE, 2019

• In 2018-2019, 98% of families said school staff works hard to build trusting relationships with families like them. 
• In 2018-2019, 100% of teachers said that they trust each other (versus 83% citywide).
• In 2018-2019, 97% of the school’s former eighth graders earned enough high school credit in ninth grade to be on track for graduation.
• In 2018-2019, 89% of students said that CRCS offers a wide enough variety of programs, classes, and activities to keep them interested in school (versus 76% citywide)

Sahba Rohani

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Race and LGBTQ Issues in K-12 Schools

What teachers, teens and the u.s. public say about current curriculum debates, table of contents.

• What do teachers think students should learn about slavery and gender identity?
• Should parents be able to opt their children out of learning about certain topics?
• How often do topics related to race and LGBTQ issues come up in the classroom?
• How do teachers’ views differ by party?
• What teachers think students should learn about slavery and gender identity
• Should parents be able to opt their children out of learning about race and LGBTQ issues?
• Influence over curriculum
• What teens want to learn about slavery
• What teens want to learn about gender identity
• 4. Public views on parents opting their children out of learning about race and LGBTQ issues
• Acknowledgments
• Teacher survey methodology
• Teen survey methodology
• General public survey methodology

Pew Research Center conducted this study to better understand how public K-12 teachers, teens and the American public see topics related to race, sexual orientation and gender identity playing out in the classroom.

The bulk of the analysis in this report is based on an online survey of 2,531 U.S. public K-12 teachers conducted from Oct. 17 to Nov. 14, 2023. The teachers surveyed are members of RAND’s American Teacher Panel, a nationally representative panel of public school K-12 teachers recruited through MDR Education. Survey data is weighted to state and national teacher characteristics to account for differences in sampling and response to ensure they are representative of the target population.

For the questions for the general public, we surveyed 5,029 U.S. adults from Nov. 9 to Nov. 16, 2023. The adults surveyed are members of the Ipsos KnowledgePanel, a nationally representative online survey panel. Panel members are randomly recruited through probability-based sampling, and households are provided with access to the Internet and hardware if needed. To ensure that the results of this survey reflect a balanced cross section of the nation, the data is weighted to match the U.S. adult population by gender, age, education, race and ethnicity and other categories.

For questions for teens, we conducted an online survey of 1,453 U.S. teens from Sept. 26 to Oct. 23, 2023, through Ipsos. Ipsos recruited the teens via their parents, who were part of its KnowledgePanel. The survey was weighted to be representative of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who live with their parents by age, gender, race and ethnicity, household income, and other categories. The survey on teens was reviewed and approved by an external institutional review board (IRB), Advarra, an independent committee of experts specializing in helping to protect the rights of research participants.

Here are the questions used for this report , along with responses, and the survey methodology .

Throughout the report, references to White, Black and Asian adults include those who are not Hispanic and identify as only one race. Hispanics are of any race. The views and experiences of teachers and teens who are Asian American or part of other racial and ethnic groups are not analyzed separately in this report due to sample limitations. Data for these groups is incorporated into the general population figures throughout the report.

All references to party affiliation include those who lean toward that party. Republicans include those who identify as Republicans and those who say they lean toward the Republican Party. Democrats include those who identify as Democrats and those who say they lean toward the Democratic Party.

Political leaning of school districts is based on whether the majority of those residing in the school district voted for Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Amid national debates about what schools are teaching , we asked public K-12 teachers, teens and the American public how they see topics related to race, sexual orientation and gender identity playing out in the classroom.

A sizeable share of teachers (41%) say these debates have had a negative impact on their ability to do their job. Just 4% say these debates have had a positive impact, while 53% say the impact has been neither positive nor negative or that these debates have had no impact.

And 71% of teachers say teachers themselves don’t have enough influence over what’s taught in public schools in their area.

In turn, a majority of teachers (58%) say their state government has too much influence over this. And more say the federal government, the local school board and parents have too much influence than say they don’t have enough.

Most of the findings in this report come from a survey of 2,531 U.S. public K-12 teachers conducted Oct. 17-Nov. 14, 2023, using the RAND American Teacher Panel. 1 The survey looks at teachers’ views on:

• Race and LGBTQ issues in the classroom ( Chapter 1 )
• Current debates over what schools should be teaching and the role of key groups ( Chapter 2 )

It follows a fall 2022 survey of K-12 parents that explored similar topics.

This report also includes some findings from a survey of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 ( Chapter 3 ) and a survey of U.S. adults ( Chapter 4 ). For details about these surveys, refer to the Methodology section of this report. Among the key findings:

• 38% of teens say they feel comfortable when topics related to racism or racial inequality come up in class (among those who say these topics have come up). A smaller share (29%) say they feel comfortable when topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity come up.
• Among the American public , more say parents should be able to opt their children out of learning about LGBTQ issues than say the same about topics related to race (54% vs. 34%).

We asked public K-12 teachers what they think students should learn in school about two topics in particular:

• Whether the legacy of slavery still affects the position of Black people in American society today.
• Whether a person’s gender can be different from or is determined by their sex at birth.

For these questions, elementary, middle and high school teachers were asked about elementary, middle and high school students, respectively.

The legacy of slavery

Most teachers (64%) say students should learn that the legacy of slavery still affects the position of Black people in American society today.

About a quarter (23%) say students should learn that slavery is part of American history but no longer affects the position of Black people in American society. Just 8% say students shouldn’t learn about this topic in school at all.

Majorities of elementary, middle and high school teachers say students should learn that the legacy of slavery still has an impact on the lives of Black Americans.

Gender identity

When it comes to teaching about gender identity – specifically whether a person’s gender can be different from or is determined by their sex assigned at birth – half of public K-12 teachers say students shouldn’t learn about this in school.

A third of teachers think students should learn that someone can be a boy or a girl even if that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth.

A smaller share (14%) say students should learn that whether someone is a boy or a girl is determined by their sex at birth.

Views differ among elementary, middle and high school teachers. But teachers across the three levels are more likely to say students should learn that a person’s gender can be different from their sex at birth than to say students should learn gender is determined by sex at birth.

Most elementary school teachers (62%) say students shouldn’t learn about gender identity in school. This is much larger than the shares of middle and high school teachers who say the same (45% and 35%).

What parents and teens say

Parents of K-12 students are more divided on what their children should learn in school about these topics.

In the 2022 survey , 49% of parents said they’d rather their children learn that the legacy of slavery still affects the position of Black people in American society today, while 42% said they’d rather their children learn that slavery no longer affects Black Americans.

When it comes to gender identity, 31% of parents said they’d rather their children learn that gender can be different from sex at birth. An identical share said they would rather their children learn gender is determined by sex at birth. Another 37% of parents said their children shouldn’t learn about gender identity in school.

Teens, like parents, are more divided than teachers on these questions. About half of teens (48%) say they’d rather learn that the legacy of slavery still affects the position of Black Americans today. Four-in-ten would prefer to learn that slavery no longer affects Black Americans.

And teens are about evenly divided when it comes to what they prefer to learn about gender identity. A quarter say they’d rather learn that a person’s gender can be different from their sex at birth; 26% would prefer to learn that gender is determined by sex at birth. About half (48%) say they shouldn’t learn about gender identity in school.

For more on teens’ views about what they prefer to learn in school about each of these topics, read Chapter 3 of this report.

Most public K-12 teachers (60%) say parents should not be able to opt their children out of learning about racism or racial inequality in school, even if the way these topics are taught conflicts with the parents’ beliefs. A quarter say parents should be able to opt their children out of learning about these topics.

In contrast, more say parents should be able to opt their children out of learning about sexual orientation or gender identity (48%) than say parents should not be able to do this (33%).

On topics related to both race and LGBTQ issues, elementary and middle school teachers are more likely than high school teachers to say parents should be able to opt their children out.

How teachers’ views compare with the public’s views

Like teachers, Americans overall are more likely to say parents should be able to opt their children out of learning about sexual orientation or gender identity (54%) than to say they should be able to opt their children out of learning about racism or racial inequality (34%).

Across both issues, Americans overall are somewhat more likely than teachers to say parents should be able to opt their children out.

For more on the public’s views, read Chapter 4 of this report.

Most teachers who’ve been teaching for more than a year (68%) say the topics of sexual orientation and gender identity rarely or never came up in their classroom in the 2022-23 school year. About one-in-five (21%) say these topics came up sometimes, and 8% say they came up often or extremely often.

Topics related to racism or racial inequality come up more frequently. A majority of teachers (56%) say these topics came up at least sometimes in their classroom, with 21% saying they came up often or extremely often.

These topics are more likely to come up in secondary school than in elementary school classrooms.

As is the case among parents of K-12 students and the general public, teachers’ views on how topics related to race and LGBTQ issues should play out in the classroom differ by political affiliation.

• What students should learn about slavery: 85% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning teachers say students should learn that the legacy of slavery still affects the position of Black people in American society today. This compares with 35% of Republican and Republican-leaning teachers who say the same.

• What students should learn about gender identity: Democratic teachers are far more likely than Republican teachers to say students should learn that a person’s gender can be different from the sex they were assigned at birth (53% vs. 5%). Most Republican teachers (69%) say students shouldn’t learn about gender identity in school.
• Parents opting their children out of learning about these topics: 80% of Republican teachers say parents should be able to opt their children out of learning about LGBTQ issues, compared with 30% of Democratic teachers. And while 47% of Republican teachers say parents should be able to opt their children out of learning about racism and racial inequality, just 11% of Democratic teachers say this.

A majority of public K-12 teachers (58%) identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party. About a third (35%) identify with or lean toward the GOP. Americans overall are more evenly divided: 47% are Democrats or Democratic leaners, and 45% are Republicans or Republican leaners .

• For details, refer to the Methodology section of the report. ↩

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Supporting States in Balanced Approaches to AI in K-12 Education

Congress must ensure that state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) are provided a gold-standard policy framework, critical funding, and federal technical assistance that supports how they govern, map, measure, and manage the deployment of accessible and inclusive artificial intelligence (AI) in educational technology across all K-12 educational settings. Legislation designed to promote access to an industry-designed and accepted policy framework will help guide SEAs and LEAs in their selection and use of innovative and accessible AI designed to align with the National Educational Technology Plan’s (NETP) goals and reduce current and potential divides in AI.

Although the AI revolution is definitively underway across all sectors of U.S. society, questions still remain about AI’s accuracy, accessibility, how its broad application can influence how students are represented within datasets, and how educators use AI in K-12 classrooms. There is both need and capacity for policymakers to support and promote thoughtful and ethical integration of AI in education and to ensure that its use complements and enhances inclusive teaching and learning while also protecting student privacy and preventing bias and discrimination. Because no federal legislation currently exists that aligns with and accomplishes these goals, Congress should develop a bill that targets grant funds and technical assistance to states and districts so they can create policy that is backed by industry and designed by educators and community stakeholders.

Challenge and Opportunity

With direction provided by Congress, the U.S. Department of Commerce, through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has developed the Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework (NIST Framework). Given that some states and school districts are in the early stages of determining what type of policy is needed to comprehensively integrate AI into education while also addressing both known and potential risks, the hallmark guidance can serve as the impetus for developing legislation and directed-funding designed to help. 

A new bill focused on applying the NIST Framework to K-12 education could create both a new federally funded grant program and a technical assistance center designed to help states and districts infuse AI into accessible education systems and technology, and also prevent discrimination and/or data security breaches in teaching and learning. As noted in the NIST Framework:

AI risk management is a key component of responsible development and use of AI systems. Responsible AI practices can help align the decisions about AI system design, development, and uses with intended aim and values. Core concepts in responsible AI emphasize human centricity, social responsibility, and sustainability. AI risk management can drive responsible uses and practices by prompting organizations and their internal teams who design, develop, and deploy AI to think more critically about context and potential or unexpected negative and positive impacts. Understanding and managing the risks of AI systems will help to enhance trustworthiness, and in turn, cultivate public trust.

In a recent national convening hosted by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, national leaders in education technology and special education discussed several key themes and questions, including: 

• How does AI work and who are the experts in the field?
• What types of professional development are needed to support educators’ effective and inclusive use of AI? 
• How can AI be responsive to all learners, including those with disabilities? 

Participants emphasized the importance of addressing the digital divide associated with AI and leveraging AI to help improve accessibility for students, addressing AI design principles to help educators use AI as a tool to improve student engagement and performance, and assuring guidelines and policies are in use to protect student confidentiality and privacy. Stakeholders also specifically and consistently noted “the need for policy and guidance on the use of AI in education and, overall, the convening emphasized the need for thoughtful and ethical integration of AI in education, ensuring that it complements and enhances the learning experience,” according to notes from participants.”

Given the rapid advancement of innovation in education tools, states and districts are urgently looking for ways to invest in AI that can support teaching and learning. As reported in fall 2023 , 

Just two states—California and Oregon—have offered official guidance to school districts on using AI [in Fall 2023]. Another 11 states are in the process of developing guidance, and the other 21 states who have provided details on their approach do not plan to provide guidance on AI for the foreseeable future. The remaining states—17, or one-third—did not respond [to requests for information] and do not have official guidance publicly available.

While states and school districts are in various stages of developing policies around the use of AI in K-12 classrooms, to date there is no federally supported option that would help them make cohesive plans to invest in and use AI in evidence-based teaching and to support the administrative and other tasks educators have outside of instructional time. A major investment for education could leverage the expertise of state and local experts and encourage collaboration around breakthrough innovations to address both the opportunities and challenges. There is general agreement that investments in and support for AI within K-12 classrooms will spur educators, students, parents, and policymakers to come together to consider what skills both educators and students need to navigate and thrive in a changing educational landscape and changing economy. Federal investments in AI – through the application and use of the NIST Framework – can help ensure that educators have the tools to teach and support the learning of all U.S. learners. To that end, any federal policy initiative must also ensure that state, federal, and local investments in AI do not overlook the lessons learned by leading researchers who have spent years studying ways to infuse AI into America’s classrooms. As noted by Satya Nitta , former head researcher at IBM, 

To be sure, AI can do sophisticated things such as generating quizzes from a class reading and editing student writing. But the idea that a machine or a chatbot can actually teach as a human can represents a profound misunderstanding of what AI is actually capable of… We missed something important. At the heart of education, at the heart of any learning, is [human] engagement.

Additionally, while current work led by Kristen DiCerbo at Khan Academy shows promise in the use of ChatGPT in Khanmingo, DiCerbo admits that their online 30-minute tutoring program, which utilizes AI, “is a tool in your toolbox” and is “not a solution to replacing humans” in the classroom. “In one-to-one teaching, there is an element of humanity that we have not been able to replicate—and probably should not try to replicate—in artificial intelligence. AI cannot respond to emotion or become your friend.”

With these data in mind, there is a great need and timely opportunity to support states and districts in developing flexible standards based on quality evidence. The NIST Framework – which was designed as a voluntary guide – is also “ intended to be practical and adaptable .” State and district educators would benefit from targeted federal legislation that would elevate the Framework’s availability and applicability to current and future investments in AI in K-12 educational settings and to help ensure AI is used in a way that is equitable, fair, safe, and supportive of educators as they seek to improve student outcomes. Educators need access to industry-approved guidance, targeted grant funding, and technical assistance to support their efforts, especially as AI technologies continue to develop. Such state- and district-led guidance will help AI be operationalized in flexible ways to support thoughtful development of policies and best practices that will ensure school communities can benefit from AI, while also protecting students from potential harms.

Plan of Action

Federal legislation would provide funding for grants and technical assistance to states and districts in planning and implementing comprehensive AI policy-to-practice plans utilizing the NIST Framework to build a locally designed plan to support and promote thoughtful and ethical integration of AI in education and to ensure that its use complements and enhances inclusive teaching, accessible learning, and an innovation-driven future for all.

• Agency: U.S. Department of Education
• Cost: $500 Million
• Budget Line: ESEA: Title IV: Part A: Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) grant program, which supports well-rounded education, safe and healthy students, and the effective use of education technology. 

Legislative Specifications

Sec. i: grant program to states.

Purposes: 

(A) To provide grants to State Education Agencies (SEA/State) to guide and support local education agencies (LEA/district) in the planning, development, and investment in AI in K-12 educational settings; ensuring AI is used in a way that is equitable, fair, safe, and can support educators and help improve student outcomes. 

(B) To provide federal technical assistance (TA) to States and districts in the planning, development, and investments in AI in K-12 education and to evaluate State use of funds. 

• A district leader.
• An expert in teacher professional development.
• A systems and or education technology expert.

Each LEA/district must be representative of the students and the school communities across the state in size, demographics, geographic locations, etc. 

Other requirements for state/district planning are:

• A minimum of one accredited state university providing undergraduate and graduate level personnel preparation to teachers, counselors, administrators, and/or college faculty
• A minimum of one state-based nonprofit organization or consortia of practitioners from the state with expertise in AI in education
• A minimum of one nonprofit organization with expertise in accessible education materials, technology/assistive technology 
• SEAs may also include any partners the State or district(s) deems necessary to successfully conduct planning and carry out district implementation in support of K-12 students and to increase district access to reliable guidance on investments in and use of AI.
• SEAs must develop a plan that will be carried out by the LEA/district partners [and other LEAs] within the timeframe indicated.
• Focus on the state’s population of K-12 students including rural and urban school communities.
• Protect against bias and discrimination of all students, with specificity for student subgroups (i.e., economically disadvantaged students; students from each major racial/ethnic group; children with disabilities as defined under IDEA; and English learners) as defined by Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
• Support educators in the use of accessible AI in UDL-enriched and inclusive classrooms/schools/districts.
• Build in metrics essential to understanding district implementation impacts on both educators and students [by subgroup as indicated above].
• SEAs may also utilize any other resources they deem appropriate to develop a plan.
• 12 months to plan
• 12 months to begin implementation, to be carried out over 24–36 months
• Conduct planning activities with partners as required/included over 12 months
• Support LEA implementation over 24 months.
• Support SEA/LEA participation in federal TA center evaluation—with the expectation such funding will not exceed 8–10% of the overall grant.
• Evaluation of SEA and LEA planning and implementation required 
• Option to renew grant (within the 24-month period). Such renewal(s) are contingent on projected need across the state/LEA uptake and other reliable outcomes supporting an expanded roll-out across the state.

Sec. 2: Federal TA Center: To assist states in planning and implementing state-designed standards for AI in education.

Cost: 6% set-aside of overall appropriated annual funding

The TA center must achieve, at a minimum, the following expected outcomes:

(a) Increased capacity of SEAs to develop useful guidance via the NIST Framework, the National Education Technology Plan of 2024 and recommendations via the Office of Education Technology in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in schools to support the use of AI for K-12 educators and for K-12 students in the State and the LEAs of the State;

(b) Increased capacity of SEAs, and LEAs to use new State and LEA-led guidance that ensures AI is used in a way that is equitable, fair, safe, protects against bias and discrimination of all students, and can support educators and help improve student outcomes. 

(c) Improved capacity of SEAs to assist LEAs, as needed, in using data to drive decisions related to the use of K-12 funds to AI is used in a way that is equitable, fair, safe, and can support educators and help improve student outcomes. 

(d) Collect data on these and other areas as outlined by the Secretary. 

Timeline: TA Center is funded by the Secretary upon congressional action to fund the grant opportunity. 

State and local education agencies need essential tools to support their use of accessible and inclusive AI in educational technology across all K-12 educational settings. Educators need access to industry-approved guidance, targeted grant funding, and technical assistance to support their efforts. It is essential that AI is operationalized in varying degrees and capacities to support thoughtful development of policies and best practices that ensure school communities can benefit from AI–while also being protected from its potential harms—now and in the future.

This idea is part of our AI Legislation Policy Sprint. To see all of the policy ideas spanning innovation, education, healthcare, and trust, safety, and privacy, head to our sprint landing page .

Congress should foster a more responsive and evidence-based ecosystem for GenAI-powered educational tools, ensuring that they are equitable, effective, and safe for all students.

Without independent research, we do not know if the AI systems that are being deployed today are safe or if they pose widespread risks that have yet to be discovered, including risks to U.S. national security.

Companies that store children’s voice recordings and use them for profit-driven applications without parental consent pose serious privacy threats to children and families.

Privacy laws are only effective if they include civil rights protections that ensure personal data is processed safely and fairly regardless of race, gender, sexuality, age, or other protected characteristics.

Confronting pervasive antisemitism in K-12 schools

by Sylvie Kirsch | May 8, 2024 | Education

K-12 public school leaders from New York, Maryland and California on Wednesday morning denied congressional accusations that they’ve inadequately addressed and prevented anti-Semitism on campus.

The two-hour hearing , held by the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, attempted to clarify specific disciplinary actions taken by these districts as well as educational programs surrounding Jewish history and combating anti-Semitism.

This hearing is the first that questions K-12 public school districts about anti-Semitism since the Hamas terror attack in Israel on Oct. 7.

“The Holocaust ended in 1945; the hate behind it has not,” opened Chairman and Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., who called the topic of the hearing “particularly troubling” and claimed that anti-Semitism was a “dominate force in our K-12 schools.”

“Kids as young as second graders are spewing Nazi propaganda which begs the question: who has positioned these young minds to attack the Jewish people?” said Rep. Bean.

New York schools Chancellor David C. Banks, Berkeley Unified School District Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel and Montgomery County, Maryland Board of Education President Karla Silvestre testified alongside American Civil Liberties Union Senior Staff Attorney Emerson Sykes. All three school districts have sizable Jewish populations.

The leaders testified that disciplinary action had been taken against multiple faculty and students involved in anti-Semitic incidents, but only Banks confirmed that teachers have been fired.

The committee put a focus on a November incident at Hillcrest High School in Queens, NY, where a Jewish teacher was trapped inside their classroom for over two hours as a mob of students stormed the building demanding their resignation.

Many representatives took issue with the fact that the New York Department of Education still employs the school’s principal in a non-teaching position.

Banks and Rep. Brandon Williams, R-Texas, at one point, engaged in a shouting match for almost two minutes over the issue. “How can Jewish students feel safe at New York City public schools when you can’t even manage to terminate the principle of ‘Open Season on Jews High School,’ or even endorse suspension of student harassments?” accused Williams. “How can Jewish students go to school knowing that he is still on your payroll?”

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who has been a fiery critic of educators’ responses to anti-Semitism, added, “That’s concerning to me that you have him in a senior position. And what’s very concerning about these hearings is that we’re getting lip service, but a lack of enforcement, a lack of accountability.”

Banks was also questioned about the Qatar Foundation International’s influence on New York’s public school teaching materials, as the regime has donated over $1 million since 2019. He testified that while “They write the check, they’ve had no impact on the curriculum that’s been developed and how it’s been implemented.”

Bean previously cast the session as attempting to hold “leaders of the most embattled school districts accountable for their failure to keep Jewish students and teachers safe.” But while there were moments of tense and passionate exchanges, Banks, Ford Morthel and Silvestre left the hearing relatively unscathed compared to the university presidents who received widespread condemnation after testifying in December that calling for the elimination of the Jewish people was only anti-Semitic depending on context.

In his closing remarks, Bean remarked about the hearing that “Hopefully it’s not only a wakeup call for your school districts, but to everybody that’s watching across America.”

Medill Today | December 5, 2023

Medill on Twitter

Negative Effects Artificial Intelligence in Education

EdTech Advocate and Enthusiast with a Penchant for Community Building

While AI holds immense promise for personalising learning and enhancing educational experiences, it’s crucial to acknowledge its potential downsides in K-12 environments (primary school to high school) across the Asia Pacific region. Having this balanced approach will help school leaders, teachers, and parents navigate the exciting yet complex world of AI-powered education.

The Dark Side of the Algorithm: Potential Pitfalls of AI in K-12

While AI promises customised learning paths, several concerns remain. Here are some of them.

Bias and Inequality

AI algorithms can perpetuate existing biases present in the data they’re trained on. This can lead to unequal learning experiences, to the detriment of students from certain backgrounds.

A great example is an AI called “Bookworm AI” designed to personalize reading recommendations for students. This AI analyzes a student’s reading history, preferences, and grade level to suggest books they might enjoy. However, it has been observed that if the training data primarily consists of books by Western authors, the AI might overlook fantastic works by Asian authors. 

This could hinder students from diverse backgrounds from encountering a well-rounded selection of literature. For instance, a student interested in historical fiction might be suggested: “The Book Thief” (German setting) or “All the Light We Cannot See” (French setting), but not “Pachinko” (Korean-Japanese diaspora) or “The Kite Runner” (Afghanistan). This bias not only limits exposure to diverse literary traditions but also reinforces the idea that “great literature” primarily comes from the West, marginalizing the contributions of Asian and other non-Western authors.

Dehumanisation of Learning 

Reliance on AI tutors could diminish the vital role of human teachers in fostering critical thinking, social interaction, and emotional development which are all very crucial aspects of education.

While AI like DreamBox Learning can provide personalised feedback on Maths problems, it can’t offer the same level of encouragement, guidance, and real-time course correction as a human teacher can. In science experiments, for example, a teacher’s presence is essential to ensure student safety, answer questions, and guide them towards deeper understanding through discussions.

Privacy and Security Threats 

Student data security is paramount, especially in the Asia Pacific region, where data protection regulations might differ. AI systems that collect and analyse student data raise privacy concerns.

Schools need to be transparent about the data collected by AI-powered learning platforms and ensure it’s stored securely in accordance with regional regulations. This is particularly important in countries with stricter data privacy laws, like Singapore and South Korea.

Tech Dependence and Reduced Critical Thinking 

Overdependence on AI for problem-solving can hinder students’ ability to think critically and develop independent learning skills.

An AI homework helper might churn out solutions to complex math problems in seconds. However, this deprives students of the opportunity to grapple with the problem themselves, develop logical reasoning skills, and experience the satisfaction of arriving at a solution independently.

For instance, Photomath allows users to take a picture of a Maths problem, and it will provide a step-by-step solution. While this can be helpful for checking answers or understanding difficult concepts, it can also hinder the learning process by preventing students from developing problem-solving skills and critical thinking abilities.

Job Displacement

AI automation might impact educators’ roles, particularly in areas like grading and individualised learning plans.

While AI can automate tasks like grading multiple-choice quizzes, it can’t replicate the nuanced feedback a human teacher can provide on essays or projects. EssayGrader, for instance, is an AI-powered tool that can assess essays and provide scores, but it falls short of offering the in-depth, personalized feedback that a teacher can give to encourage student growth. Teachers will still be essential for guiding students, providing constructive criticism, and cultivating a love of learning

Finding Balance: Mitigating the Risks

Despite these challenges, AI can be a valuable tool when implemented thoughtfully. Here’s how we can mitigate the risks:

Teacher Training and Oversight

Equipping your educators with the skills they need to assess AI tools, identify biases, and curate appropriate learning experiences is crucial.

Teachers should be trained to critically evaluate AI-powered learning platforms for potential biases and ensure they align with the curriculum and learning objectives. They should also be empowered to choose the most effective tools to complement their teaching style and cater to the specific needs of their students.

Data Transparency and Security 

Prioritising data privacy and security through robust data governance practices is essential.

Schools should clearly communicate to parents and students what data is being collected by AI platforms and how it’s being used. They should also implement robust data security measures to prevent unauthorised access and ensure student information remains protected.

Focus on Human-AI Collaboration 

AI should complement, not replace, teachers. The human touch remains irreplaceable in fostering creativity, critical thinking, and social-emotional learning.

Instead of viewing AI as a replacement, teachers can leverage it as a powerful tool to enhance their teaching experience. 

For example, AI tutors like Carnegie Learning’s MATHia software can provide personalized practice for struggling students, adapting to their individual needs and providing targeted support. This frees up the teacher’s time to focus on small group instruction or individual mentoring, allowing for more personalized attention and deeper learning experiences.

Promoting Digital Literacy 

Cultivating digital citizenship skills in students empowers them to navigate the online world critically and responsibly.

Students need to be equipped with the skills to critically evaluate information encountered online, identify potential biases in AI-generated content, and protect their privacy in the digital world. 

Visit our blog “Empower your Students through Digital Citizenship” for more information on how you can help your students become responsible citizens.

A Measured Approach to AI in Education

By acknowledging the potential downsides of AI, we can develop a more nuanced approach to its implementation in K-12 education. One key aspect to consider is that while AI models can provide personalized learning experiences, they do not fully account for the social, emotional, and economic backgrounds of students. Teachers, on the other hand, are uniquely equipped to understand and respond to these diverse needs, fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment.

Mobile Guardian understands the impact AI has on student learning, and that responsible intervention and access control are vital aspects of a balanced educational ecosystem. By combining the strengths of AI with the human touch of teachers, we can create a more holistic and equitable approach to education that benefits all students.

For more information on access control, see our previous blog post, “How to Block ChatGPT” .

You can also discover more about “Artificial intelligence in education” on our blog.

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The education wars provides a guide for supporters of public education.

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The Education Wars

In their 2020 book, A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door, Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire sounded the alarm :

The threat to public education...is grave. A radical vision for unmaking the very idea of public schools has moved from the realm of ideological pipe dream to legitimate policy.

In their new book The Education Wars (out this week), Schneider and Berkshire update us on how that radical vision, now fueled by the culture wars, is faring.

The culture wars—roaring debates over what schools are for, what they should teach, who should decide— are not new. But the writers note that “this time it’s different.” This time, the questions under debate include the question of whether public schools should exist at all.

With that question on the table, the culture wars take on extra weight.

Culture war isn’t merely an outlet for grievance, though it is that. It is also a mechanism for alienating people...a way of prying allegiance away from the public schools that Americans of all stripes have long supported, and which are at the heart of so many communities.

Or as Christopher Rufo, the man who has promoted several waves of culture panic put it

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To get universal school choice, you really need to operate from a place of universal public school distrust.

Berkshire and Schneider’s book is subtitled A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual , and it serves well as that, providing a brisk view of the journey that brought us to our present situation, a clear explanation of what that situation is, and some thoughtful ideas for how to defend public education.

Religion in schools. LGBTQ rights and representation. Book Bans. Demands for parental rights (but only for some parents). Fund students, not systems. If you (or someone close to you) are trying to make sense of all the issues and rhetoric swirling around schools and education, this is a perfect book for setting everything in a clear and focused context.

They also lay out the stakes, which are high. While they admit that the promise of public education has never been fully realized, our country, they argue “is a far more equal and democratic place than it would be without public schooling.”

Efforts to replace public education with a privatized, sectarian, pay-your-own-way model aren’t just aimed at schools—they’re aimed at the larger vision or equality and multi-ethnic democracy.

School voucher fans, they point out, “talk endlessly about giving families options,” but “options are not a substitute for rights.”

In the end, say Berkshire and Schneider, “the fog of culture war always lifts.” Not because someone is victorious. “Nobody can ‘win’ the educational culture wars, because as a population, we are simply too diverse and divided for that.” For the authors, the critical question is what could be lost in the meantime. As with their earlier work, this book ends on a note of warning.

If we are to preserve our schools, it must be clear that public education is for all of us. We must win the peace.

If we fail at that, we will lose our schools. And if we lose them, they won’t come back.

It’s not hyperbole, they write. Even if we lived in less contentious times, imagine trying to sell an ambitious, inclusive, pluralistic education system that promised a decent education to every child in the country, with every taxpayer helping to foot the bill.

The Education Wars is an invaluable guide for supporters of public education, making the case for the defense of an American institution under attack.

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Florida ranked one of worst funded states in K-12 education

Competing against private school students in science fairs made clear the disparity.

From a young age, I have always been curious about the world I live in. This curiosity ledto me participate in my school’s annual science fair throughout the entirety of myelementary school education. However, this changed after a brutal defeat at thesixth-grade regional science fair.

What happened? Several of my classmates and I placed in our school’s science fair andwere invited to compete in the larger regional competition. Excitedly, we made changesto our projects and prepared for the judge's interviews until the day of the science faircame. It would be an understatement to say we were blown out of the water.After I set up my board, I began scoping out the competition and my jaw dropped. Mostof the contestants came from private schools and it was obvious that hundreds of dollarswere spent decking out their projects. A couple students had even conducted theirresearch in labs. Perhaps, what terrified me most, was the names of their projects. All ofwhich were chock full of jargon that I was not just unfamiliar with but couldn’t evenpronounce.I couldn't understand how these students put together their projects. My sixth-gradescience teacher taught me about the solar system, not the processes ofimmunoelectrophoresis or thrombocytapheresis.Somehow, I managed to walk away with a second-place ribbon but what I saw crushedme. At that moment, I realized that the public education system would never give me thesame tools that private school students have.The unfortunate fact of the matter is that many of us public school students lost ambitionbecause of this disparity. This isn’t to say that the advantages private school students haveare wrong but rather they demonstrate the incompetence of Florida’s K-12 system inproviding resources and funding to students and schools.Don’t be mistaken, this isn’t the fault of teachers, parents, or school administration teams.It's the fault of legislators. A March 2024 report from the Network for Public Education(NPE) revealed that Florida ranks dead last in its ability to adequately provide funding toschools.Eventually, I was inspired to try competing in the science fair during my sophomore yearof high school. My inspiration was spurred on by college-level classes I took throughFlorida Virtual School (FLVS) as a ninth grader. Interestingly, FLVS is funded by theFlorida Department of Education and allows students to take online versions of classesnot offered at their schools. Thus, it also helps to eliminate the disparity in courseselection between private and public schools.When I was given the resources other students had. I succeeded. My research ended upbeing recognized by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the AmericanAssociation of University Women (AAUW).Though services like FLVS are a step in the right direction, public school classrooms stillsuffer from the aforementioned lack of funding. For instance, data sets released byMiami-Dade County indicate that public schools in the area have a significantly higherstudent-teacher ratio compared to private schools. Personally, several of the Cambridgeclasses I’ve taken in Lee County lacked textbooks and other resources needed for successon end-of-year exams.Government officials do not care to continuously support students. We are told they carethrough programs like FLVS but this is hard to believe when just the other day RonDeSantis vetoed 30 million dollars' worth of funding that would have benefitedaccessible tutoring. Thus, we are told we are only important when officials need to save face.

Julianna Bendeck, 17, is a rising senior at Bonita Springs High School and a dual-enrolled student at Florida Gulf Coast University. She enjoys organizing volunteer events as the president and student founder of her school's Interact Club. This past year, Julianna also served as the chairwoman of the District Student Advisory Committee and is involved in activities ranging from Teen Court to Marching Band to FGCU's Eagle News. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Prop 123 which funds K-12 education set to expire next year

Funding for Arizona's Proposition 123 is set to expire next July, leaving educators and parents concerned about the future.

The money for Prop 123 comes from the State Land Trust, which needs the approval of voters in order to fund K-12 education.

A Prop 123 renewal has the support of both Democrats and Republicans, but they're split on the details.

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Education amendment would be biggest progressive policy win in Arkansas since Medicaid expansion - Arkansas Times

Organizers are racing to try to meet the signature threshold for an ambitious ballot initiative that would dramatically reorient the state’s K-12 education priorities and hold private schools receiving public funds to the same standards as those for public schools. They still need thousands of signatures and face an uphill climb to meet the threshold by the July 5 deadline. We won’t know until the bitter end whether or not the group manages to get over the hump (more than a thousand volunteers are working at events across the state...

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