School equity demands a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationship between school leadership and the complex social, economic, and political contexts that shape the education system. Maintain your motivation and focus to do this important work. This essential leadership guide offers research-based strategies, action steps, and…

Since the efforts to be made in education equity follow the entire student pathway, this guide seeks to advance a public dialogue about and action toward racial justice across the state's public schools, colleges, and universities. In supporting dialogue and action, this guide also seeks to model it. The model used is borrowed from the California…

Across the United States, state and local education agencies work to ensure equitable access to high-quality education for all students, including students who are experiencing homelessness. This barrier to academic success is, unfortunately, not unique. To equitably serve all students, states and districts must first identify students…

In "System Wise," Adam Parrott-Sheffer, Carmen Williams, David Rease, Jr., and Kathryn Parker Boudett provide a blueprint to scale up the Data Wise process for continuous improvement, extending it from classrooms and schools to broader educational contexts. The System Wise approach highlights the adaptability of the Data Wise protocols,…

Education leaders have varying power to change inequitable structures and systems, but all need safety, support, skills, strategies, and practices to sustain change efforts--especially when doing this work in a stressful or oppressive context. Often overlooked, the health and wellbeing of staff (all types) is as important as the health and…

"Equity and Quality in Digital Learning" identifies and presents specific strategies and practices for using digital tools to reduce inequities in educational opportunities and improve student outcomes. Based on the authors' ten-year research-practice partnership with both the Dallas and Milwaukee public school districts, the book…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires all states to report school-level spending data. This fall, the Department of Education released the first round of data on per-pupil expenditure as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). As states continue to release new spending data, it will be possible for a variety of stakeholders to…

The purpose of the National AEM Center's Quality Indicators with Critical Components for K-12 is to assist State and local education agencies with planning, implementing, and evaluating dynamic, coordinated systems for providing accessible materials and technologies for all students who need them. The ultimate goal of an AEM provision system is…

State education agencies (SEAs) are working to deliver equitable education opportunities to every student, and that can require a hard look at how the agency is managing capacity, coherence, and equity in pursuit of this work. To build capacity, SEAs are taking stock not only of how they are allocating existing resources but also examining how…

As schools reopen their doors and students return to the classroom, what will the "new normal" of special education look like? The pandemic exposed educational inequities and areas of urgent need--and now, schools have a unique opportunity to press pause and reimagine their practices. This book helps K-12 school leaders and educators…

Nearly 70 years after one of the most important U.S. Supreme Court rulings was handed down in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) declaring segregated schools unconstitutional, the promise of desegregation has remained unfulfilled. However, there are still actions that can be taken to address the extant disparities in schools that exist in large…

Embedded within school discipline policies, dress codes, or codes of conduct are gender and racial biases that manifest in exclusionary punishments that have more to do with who girls are rather than what they do. Girls of color face some of the greatest barriers to educational opportunities and social emotional growth inside schools with poor…

The COVID-19 pandemic is resulting in widespread and ongoing changes to how the K-12 education system functions, including disruptions to science teaching and learning environments. Students and teachers are all figuring out how to do schooling differently, and districts and states are working overtime to reimagine systems and processes. This is…

This document discusses specific learning disabilities identification (SLD ID) determination implications and considerations with distance learning and school reentry due to COVID-19.

A Toolkit of Emerging Best Practices and Opportunities for Charter Support Organizations Approximately 6.4 million students--roughly 13 percent of the student population between ages 6-21--receive special education and related services in public schools every year. While students identified as eligible for special education require supports and…