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This month's focus: Purposeful Governance
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"IDRA will continue to work with our allies in the civil rights community to protect students and strengthen education by drawing on our unique ability to bridge policy, with practice, with teacher and principal training, and, most importantly, with community engagement, because families must be at the table."
- Celina Moreno, J.D., IDRA President &CEO
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New IDRA CEO Carries on IDRA's Legacy and Future
In this opening article, IDRA's new President & CEO, Celina Moreno, J.D., affirms IDRA's mission and values promoting equal educational opportunities for all students, regardless of background. She will build upon the legacies of IDRA founder Dr. José A. Cárdenas and her predecessor, Dr. María "Cuca" Robledo Montecel.
The long-standing mission of IDRA will remain the same, and the organization will continue to adapt to meet new challenges to strengthen and hold accountable public schools to ensure every child receives an excellent education that prepares them for college and life.
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Meet Morgan Craven - IDRA's National Director of Policy
The IDRA Newsletter is highlighting our staff's varied and diverse talents and backgrounds.
Morgan Craven, J.D., is IDRA's new national director of policy and is a leading expert in school discipline, policing in schools and school safety. Morgan brings over a decade of experience in research and providing legal advice on issues of equity, particularly education access, school discipline, and systemic and structural inequities.
Her work has had a positive impact on Texas public schools - for example, because of Morgan's work and that of the coalitions she led, Texas has significantly limited school suspension for children in second grade and younger, and several cities have repealed their harmful juvenile curfew ordinances.
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Red Flags Wave in Proposed Changes to Title IX -
Gender Equity in Schools Needs Diligence not Relaxation
by Aurelio M. Montemayor, M.Ed.
Several decades after Brown vs. Board of Education made segregation and institutionalized racism illegal, the Title IX amendment to federal education policy in 1972 began to throw a comparable light on gender and sexual identification injustices in our schools. Currently, the U.S. Department of Education has proposed changes to the rules for how schools handle sexual assault allegations.
IDRA does not support any proposed rules that reduce protection of students vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse and increase the freedom of abusers. During the public comment period, IDRA submitted a list of concerns based on our 45 years of working with educators, parents and children in underserved communities across the nation. This article concludes with recommendations for creating safe environments for all students.
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Bilingual Parent Institute April 5, 2019 in San Antonio
Special event for families, community groups, educators and administrators
Grounded in our unique model of family leadership i
n education, the Annual IDRA La Semana del Niño Parent Institute is an event where families lead each other in advocating for equitable and excellent education in their communities.
This annual institute offers families, school district personnel and community groups from across the country the opportunity to network, obtain resources and information, and receive training and bilingual materials on IDRA's nationally-recognized research-based model for parent leadership in education. The institute is interactive and participatory.
All presentations are bilingual (English-Spanish).
#FamEngage #IDRAedu
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IDRA Public Policy Issues for Texas in 2019
This newsletter entry outlines IDRA's public policy priorities for this year for Texas. These priorities include: fair funding that ensures equity and excellence for all students; fair discipline that keeps children in safe schools; policies that keep the public in public education; effective accountability that puts children first and supports schools; testing that doesn't hurt children; instruction for English learners that ensures success; and higher education access that expands opportunities.
See up-to-date news on Texas school finance at IDRA's online dashboard.
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The Attrition Rates for Poor Students is 29 Times Higher than for other Texas Students
Texas schools, particularly those in low wealth districts and large urban areas, are more likely to lose students who are poor than students who are not. This is an especially troubling trend in a state where three out of five children are economically disadvantaged.
In an additional analysis to IDRA's
annual attrition study
released in November, IDRA examined data from a national and statewide perspective on attrition rates of economically disadvantaged students and examined the issue in terms of school district property wealth.
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Classnotes Podcasts on Purposeful Governance
IDRA Classnotes is available on Spotify!
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