Policy

Alliance for Educational Justice Policy Demands

2010 Priority Federal Policy areas for AEJ

  1. Full access to higher education, financial aid, and a pathway to documentation for undocumented students
  2. More federal funding to prepare students for college and careers
  3. Academically rigorous and challenging courses and real-world apprenticeships to prepare students for meaningful, living-wage careers and college
  4. Alternatives to zero tolerance, suspension, and expulsion and the expansion restorative justice programs that address the emotional, social, and disciplinary needs of students

AEJ Demands for ESEA Re-authorization

The Alliance for Educational Justice has drafted the following policy demands / priorities for the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind.

Top AEJ policy demands for ESEA re-authorization

1.  Increase federal funding and hold states accountable to provide equitable Opportunities to Learn to ensure that all students graduate college- and career-ready.

  • Access to high-quality textbooks, technology, and learning material
  • The equitable and adequate distribution of highly-qualified teachers
  • Universal access to college-prep curriculum in K-12 education and Algebra by eighth grade.
  • Alignment of college-prep requirements and high school graduation requirements
  • Support for the social and emotional needs of students
  • Integration of multi-cultural and multi-lingual practices

2.  Increase federal funding for student support such as community based Student Success Centers.

  • Provide federal funding for discretionary grants for schools and districts to establish Student Success Centers with clearly defined standards based on models developed by organizations in New York, Philadelphia, and Oakland that engage youth- and parent-led organizations in providing peer mentoring and support to ensure that students graduate college- and career-ready and can successfully complete higher education.
  • Work with student leaders and national organizations that represent school support staff to establish national standards for student-to-support staff ratios (e.g., counselors, nurses, school psychologists/social workers)

3.  Promote student portfolios and senior research projects as a form of student evaluations that go beyond test scores.

  • Develop and prioritize high-quality assessments of student learning and achievement that measure critical thinking and college and career readiness, and track student success after graduation.
  • Disaggregate and publicize student assessment data based on race, ethnicity, income, gender, and special education status.
  • Share assessment results with students and teachers to allow students to learn from their mistakes and develop plans for academic progress.

4.  Ensure equitable and adequate distribution of highly qualified teachers who can provide quality instruction that prepares all students for
college, careers, and democratic participation.

  • Provide additional resources and supports for teachers working in disadvantaged schools.
  • Develop and fund a National Work Study program to provide trained college student tutors for high-need K-12 schools and create a pipeline to the teaching profession.
  • Engage students, parents, and community members in the selection and evaluation of teachers.

5.  Develop a holistic definition of college and career readiness

  • Include concepts such as critical thinking, creativity, life skills, and ability to engage in community and democratic institutions.
  • Define clear metrics that measure what it means to be career-ready.

6.  Provide Alternatives to zero tolerance

  • Provide funding and support for states, districts, and schools to implement positive discipline policies and alternatives to zero tolerance, suspension, and expulsion.
  • Adopt restorative justice models that promote counseling, mediation and conflict resolution.
  • Expand discipline programs to address the emotional, social, and disciplinary needs of students.

7.  Establish a federal “Office of Meaningful Student and Parent Engagement” based on the Oakland, CA model.

  • Review, strengthen, and enforce standards and capacity-building resources for autonomous parent, student and community engagement in the current version of ESEA, the No Child Left Behind act.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 24th, 2010 at 4:20 am. It is filed under Policy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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