Civil Rights Groups Criticize U.S.D.O.E Stance on NCLB Re-Authorization

Seven leading civil rights groups recently released a set of recommendations that contain strong criticisms of the Obama Administration’s Blueprint for Reform.

In issuing their “Framework for Providing All Students an Opportunity to Learn through Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,” the National Urban League, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc., National Council for Educating Black Children, Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and Schott Foundation for Public Education, applauded some aspects of the Blueprint, but argued that “more comprehensive reforms are necessary to build a future where equitable educational opportunity “is the rule, not the exception,” adding that “Today there is nothing short of a state of emergency in the delivery of education to our nation’s communities of color.”

The group’s greatest concern seems to be with the Obama’s administration’s Race to the Top competitive funding model, which the Blueprint proposes to continue and expand into other program areas. The civil rights groups argue that, “Incentivizing behavior through limited competition, in and of itself, is not a bad strategy, but we must go further to recognize that many states and districts in our union will not compete, either because they do not have the capacity or because they lack the political will.” This means that millions of low income children in these states will not get the benefit of what appears to be a growing source of vitally needed federal funds.

Another concern is the administration’s emphasis on what the civil rights groups consider dramatic turnaround strategies. The authors express discontent particularly with school closure as a turnaround model, arguing that, “Research has found that widespread use of these strategies has increased disruption but has not improved achievement for the students in these communities.” Charter schools, as well, the groups consider to be “laboratories for innovation,” rather than persistent and effective education programs as implied by the administration’s strong promotion of charters.

In a speech at the National Urban League’s Centennial Conference, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan acknowledged the importance of the groups' efforts, stating that their “forceful and passionate voice on issues affecting low-income families and children is always important, always needed—and always respected.” But he also responded to some of the Campaign’s concerns, partly by pointing to examples of successful turnaround schools, like Banneker High School in D.C., Locke High School in Los Angeles, and Chicago’s Urban Prep. Simultaneously, Duncan tried to clarify the position of the U.S. Department of Education, stating:

“Just to be clear, we will absolutely continue to invest heavily in formula programs like Title I and IDEA. 80 percent of federal education dollars in our proposed budget are formula driven. Anyone who says otherwise is intentionally misleading or profoundly misinformed. But the fact is Race to the Top has done so much to dismantle the barriers to education reform with less than 1 percent of what we spend on K-12 education.”