Using critical race theory (CRT) as both our theory and analytical framework, we interrogated vocational, career, and technical education (VCTE) policy as a racial instrument. We applied key CRT themes to examine both primary sources; including historical and contemporary VCTE Acts (e.g., Perkins I-V) and Congressional reports; and secondary…

The Arizona state legislature has aimed to pass a series of bills banning those in schools from teaching topics associated with inclusion, social justice, and equity. Since 2020, the legislature has targeted teaching 'critical race theory' (CRT), often (mis)using the term to refer to any ideas related to systemic discrimination and racial…

The recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions "Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College" (2023) and "Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina et al." (2023), hereafter collectively referred to as "SFFA v. Harvard," have garnered attention, especially among…

Amid debates about CRT in education, this paper critically analyses laws that have reportedly sought to expand 'education on racism, bias, the contributions of specific racial or ethnic groups to U.S. history, or related topics' with the hypothesis that there would be little evidence of anti-racist ideology in policies pertaining to curriculum.…

Antiblackness is a persistent feature of American society with continued implications for the experiences, outcomes, and well-being of Black communities. In the wake of widespread protests against antiblack police brutality and heightened awareness of racial injustices in 2020, federal, state, and local political actors swiftly began a concerted…

Though "Lau v. Nichols (Lau)" has garnered substantial educational gains for multilingual learners (MLs), we address two limitations. Namely, there is a need to historicize the interlocking language, ability, and racial differences and to examine MLs through an intersectional lens. We delineate the historical entanglements of language,…

Using critical discourse analysis, this article reveals how power is inherent in and maintained through Title IX campus-based adjudication processes. We interrogate the role of identity and power in Title IX adjudication processes through an intersectional analytic framework. We challenge the reliance on fairness and neutrality, which leads…

We outline a multidimensional ecological systems policy framework to better understand how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and patterns of racial disproportionality in special education relate. The framework engages with ideology, power, privilege, and context across the multiple layers of the policy-implementation process…

In the U.S. education system, students of color experience multiple forms of marginalization at the intersection of markers of difference. These injustices manifest in multiple forms, such as higher rates of inappropriate referrals to special education, misidentification, conferring stigmatizing labels, and subsequently placing students of color…

The contemporary reconceptualization of Career and Technical Education (CTE) often emphasizes the need for more post-secondary opportunities for racially marginalized students. Yet CTE typically functions as a mode of social control for the racial capitalist project, and increased exposure and more CTE for students of color, particularly Black…

As American teacher educators and teachers are being roiled by restrictive legislation around critical race theory and divisive concepts in some states, our investigation explored the impact of critical communities of practice (CoP) on redesigning and teaching introduction to education courses with a transformative lens. This manuscript details…

Despite growing interest and investment in building a more racially and ethnically diverse teacher workforce, increases in the share of teachers of color nationally have stalled in recent years. Even with more new teachers of color entering the profession each year, about 80% of the teacher workforce has been white since 2015. This trend…

Earning a college degree has long been critical to unlocking many high-paying jobs -- and, as a result, to economic mobility and security. Increasingly, however, the traditional "norm" of a college student--one who enrolls straight out of high school, receives some support from their parents, lives on campus, and does not have…

The Israel-Hamas crisis that started in October of 2023 has led to an increase in hate acts targeted at Jewish and Arab students. In response, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter reminding educational leaders of their responsibilities to address this behavior. This paper offers examples of the kind of conduct educational leaders are…

We used a situated approach to examine the aftermath of citations for racial disparities in special education and discipline. The study was conducted in one suburban school district and examined staff's interpretations and responses to multiple disproportionality citations. We found that historical, spatial, and sociocultural contexts mediated…