U.S.D.O.E
Creates New Commission On Equity in School Funding
Through a
formal notice in the Federal Register on August 11,
the Department of Education has announced the establishment
of an “Equity and Excellence Commission,”
which will be organized under the auspices of the Department’s
Office of Civil Rights. The idea for the Commission
originated with Congressmen Chaka Fattah (D-PA), a member
of the House Education Committee and Mike Honda (D-CA),
a member of the House Appropriations Committee. Both
of these influential members of Congress indicated that
the Commission’s recommendations would be seriously
considered by the Congress.
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan hopes the Commission
will “expose the inequities in [school] funding,
gather public input and issue policy recommendations
on finance reform.” Duncan announced the formation
of the Commission during a speech to the National Urban
League in which he responded to recent criticism by
seven major civil rights groups of the Obama Administration’s
Blueprint for Reform. In doing so, he said “I
want to directly address some of the concerns raised
in the framework issued by the civil rights community
this week.”
The Commission will hold town hall meetings in different
parts of the country to help gather information and
input from the public, and to facilitate public discussion
of the issues relating to disparities in education finance.
The Commission will publish a report, to be presented
to the Department and to Congress, that addresses “options
for how Federal, State, and local governments could
establish funding systems to ensure that all students
receive equal educational opportunities,” and
“the cost of education in different settings,
with consideration of students’ educational needs,
school needs, and variations in geography.”
Approximately 15 members will be appointed to the committee,
and will serve for a period of about a year. The candidates
are expected to have knowledge and expertise in areas
of school finance, taxes, or civil rights. About one-third
of the group will have experience working with State
agencies, according to the notice published in the Federal
Register.
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