Senate Bill 17 (a bill banning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offices) recently went into effect. How does this move impact kids prior to them entering college? 

The Current Push Away from Diversity 

In 2021, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 3979, with the argued intent being to prevent personal biases from bleeding over into children’s education.

 In response to the passing of the bill, the leader of the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers stated in late May of that year that he believes the passing of this bill is part of a movement by conservatives.

“The specific references by Republicans to banning Critical Race Theory and the 1619 Project make it clear that they want this to be a wedge issue for state and local political races,” they said in a statement in late May. “The bill is part of a national movement by conservatives trying to sow a narrative of students being indoctrinated by teachers. Our members rightfully have expressed outrage against this insult of their professionalism to provide balanced conversations with students on controversial issues.”

Pushing away from diversity and inclusion according to the Department of Education has more of a detrimental effect on students than a focus on diversity. Society as a whole is also becoming more diverse as a 2020 study by the Brookings Institute states, but removing the focus on diversity amongst students and staff can have an adverse effect on this increasingly more diverse group of students. 

How A Lack of Diversity Harms Kids

As Great Schools.org points out, the “resegregation” of schools results in nonwhite schools that have few resources and a high teacher turnover rate. As UCLA points out, this ultimately results in those institutions becoming, “dropout factories.” 

As the U.S. The Department of Education points out, well-curated efforts to improve school diversity hold the ability to increase access to necessary resources for students in preschool- 12th grade. 

Research by the Department of Education shows that “racial isolation,”  (as they describe it) often corresponds with poverty, leading to a lack of resources to help students succeed. In fact, the more segregation increases in Black and white students, the district revenue for Black students decreases. 

School choice programs also factor into the increased issues for students of color.As the Department of Education found, this is because it allows parents in neighborhoods currently undergoing gentrification to place their children in different schools. The newer residents were also more likely to send their children to a school that served more white students than Black students. 

“Newly relocated families were more likely than longtime residents in gentrifying neighborhoods to send their children to a school other than their neighborhood school. And when newly relocated families did choose a school outside their neighborhood, they often chose a school that served more white students and fewer Black students than their assigned neighborhood schools. This movement of students away from their neighborhood schools contributed to further racial and economic isolation in neighborhood schools,” the Department of Education states. 

Improving Diversity & Education for Black Youth

Aside from improving diversity within public schools (hiring more Black staff members and altering school choice programs to more proportionately benefit students of color), magnet assistance programs are one solution offered by the Department of Education. This program offers grants to Local Education Agencies. The Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence Grants, which offers funding and educational preparation for educators of color. This is crucial, the Department of Education states, as more diversity among the teaching staff can benefit all students. In 2022, the Hawkins Grant awarded 12 academic institutions $8 million dollar grants, granting three more institutions funding in 2023.  They also suggest offering transportation via the Every Student Succeeds Act, which is permissible for some to use funding to pay for additional transportation for students in need of it. To learn more about these programs, you can view the Department of Education’s report below:

*The State of School Diversity in the United States (PDF)