A lack of access to a sequence of introductory to top-level curricula in rural schools has widened the achievement disparity between rural and urban students and influenced the number of college degree holders in rural areas. Recently, surging diversity and differentiation in income levels across nonurbanized areas can serve as determinants of the…

As the follow-up to an earlier examination of the frequency and outcomes trends of published court decisions under the IDEA for P-12 students, this updated analysis covers the 25-year period ending on December 31, 2022. The frequency trend for the most recent 10 years reversed the upward trajectory of the previous 15 years. The outcomes trend for…

We examined how an agricultural literacy professional development enhanced equity in seven secondary agriculture classrooms in a southeastern state. Utilizing the Equity Framework in Career and Technical Education and exploratory case study methodology, we examined the equitable barriers that seven secondary agriculture education teachers faced in…

Authors describe the college's First-Gen Student Network, a cohort of faculty, students, and practitioners committed to equity, access, and success of first-generation learners. Optional biweekly meetings address a range of topics, including financial aid and opportunities for employment.

Federal law defines English learner (EL) eligibility differently for Indigenous, compared to non-Indigenous, students, allowing for broader entry into the EL category, along with its accompanying resources and services. We interviewed EL leaders from 25 state departments of education to learn about their level of understanding of the…

Recent evidence suggests school resources are continually segregated from minoritized communities. This funding disparity impacts students' long-term outcomes in school and in their community. Political discourse has prioritized school defunding, privatization through vouchers and related policies, and tax relief and at the same time greater…

Despite earning the highest grade point average (GPA) in her graduating class at the recently integrated Cleveland High School (CHS) in Cleveland, Mississippi, Ms. Jasmine Shepard, an African-American female, was named "co-valedictorian" with Ms. Heather Bouse, a White female, who had a lower GPA. Utilizing Derrick Bell's rules of racial…

Gender disparity is an enduring problem in engineering and construction (EC) areas. The main purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of female students in EC programs in the US toward factors impacting their situations and investigate barriers to their academic and professional paths. A quantitative research method was used to measure…

Deaf education in the United States began in 1817 with the bilingual co-leadership of Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. In 2018, Marianne Belsky and Nicole Sutliffe, a bilingual, deaf/hearing team, were officially appointed as co-leaders of the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. In this article, Belsky and Sutliffe share the…

On this 50th-year anniversary of "Alexander v. Holmes Board of Education" (1969) nationally enforcing school desegregation in fall 1970, Mississippi is being sued for racial disparities in public education between Black students and White students in Williams et al. v. Bryant et al. (2017). Using quantitative and qualitative primary…

Preparing high-quality teachers is supposed to be the responsibility of state Departments of Education and university teacher education programs, yet the mandated Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) is operated by Pearson, a private corporation. Standing on the frontline to implement edTPA, faculty have witnessed equity issues within the system…

Historical writings about the Morrill Land-Grant Acts are not free from promoting unbiased, dominant ideas about the laws' reach and intentions. The Morrill Acts were major legislation, but they did not signify the entitlement of every citizen; their successes for Black students, communities, and colleges were meager. This study makes common cause…

As of 2015, 17 special education voucher programs (SVPs) existed in 13 states and proposals continue to emerge. Eligible parents utilize these vouchers to enroll their children in private schools and thereby relinquish special education services and protections provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Using a…

Legislation and policy lead to action. In the absence of law or policy, situations are addressed on a case-by-case basis or they are sometimes ignored. Legislation and policy become extremely important when they relate to groups that have traditionally been marginalized, such as students with disabilities or students with gifts and talents, and…

This chapter describes how data analysis and data-driven decision making were critical for designing, developing, and assessing a new academic program. The authors--one, the program's founder; the other, an alumna--begin by highlighting some of the elements in the program's incubation and, subsequently, describe some of the components for data…