NCSD Director Gina Chirichigno attended the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference, during which several NCSD members/partners presented, including (but not limited to): Janel George, Todd Cox, Damon Hewitt, GeDá Jones Herbert, and Demetria McCain. The entire event was energizing and thought-provoking, as always, but Gina's favorite session was Reconstruction’s Black Political Surge and Today’s DEI Backlash: A Historical Parallel, which was organized by Rep. James E. Clyburn.

LEGAL & POLICY UPDATES

ED CANCELS REMAINING FOSTERING DIVERSE SCHOOLS FUNDS

Unfortunately, this month the Department of Education (ED) cut off remaining funds for the Fostering Diverse Schools Demonstration Grants Program (FDS), which NCSD and its partners have worked hard to secure for many years. This decision affects seven grantees total, including four implementation grantees (Anchorage School District, East Baton Rouge Parish, and New York City Districts 3 and 13) and three planning grantees (MD State Department of Education, Citizens of the World Charter Schools, and School Board of Miami-Dade County).

The non-continuation letters stated that ED "has determined that continuation of this program is not in the best interest of the Federal Government and that funds reserved for technical assistance and capacity building under Title IV-A should be used for the School-Based Mental Health program that has been reworked to align with the Administration’s priorities."

We are deeply disappointed in this move, and remain committed to staying the course on our efforts to ensure that community-led integration efforts have the resources they need.

Related articles:

• Districts Lose Millions for This School Year as Trump Ends Desegregation Grants (Education Week, Sept. 25) - “'When there was an opportunity to get some federal money to do school diversity work, these people raised their hands, and they wanted it,' Amerikaner said. 'That’s the part that isn’t going to change when this grant ends.'”
• Alaska federal and state lawmakers call for reversal of Trump administration cuts to schools and universities (Anchorage Daily News, Sept. 22) - "Members of Alaska’s congressional delegation are asking federal officials to reverse funding cuts that impact Alaska schools and universities. The state’s entire congressional delegation on Monday asked the federal Department of Education to approve the Anchorage School District’s appeal of canceled grant funds that supported career education in its schools, and last week Alaska’s U.S. senators called for recently canceled federal grants for universities to be reinstated."

ED PULLS SEVERAL MAGNET SCHOOLS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (MSAP) AWARDS AND THREATENS OTHERS

In addition to cutting FDS funding, the Administration has withdrawn awards and/or threatened to withhold federal magnet school funding if districts do not comply with its positions on specific civil rights issues. In order to receive continuation funding, MSAP-funded grants, of which there are currently about 60, must undergo review by ED's Office for Civil Rights as a standard matter of practice.

Given that the Trump Administration's position on civil rights, as articulated in its Dear Colleague letter and DOJ Guidance documents, departs from past OCR policy and practice (as well as Supreme Court precedent), many of the districts receiving MSAP funds are at an unnecessary crossroads. We maintain that forcing districts to change their policies without clear legal mandates is harmful and inappropriate. It stoops to new levels of coercion, with no regard for the needs of students and educators.

Importantly, this move is part of a larger effort to cut funding for competitive grant programs. As Education Week's Mark Lieberman noted: "In the four months since the Trump administration released its budget proposal, the Education Department has discontinued more than 200 separate grants across at least 16 competitive programs the administration has proposed to eliminate altogether...." Trump Bypasses Congress and Slashes Hundreds of Education Grants (Education Week, Sept. 25)

3 School Districts to Lose $65 Million Over Gender and D.E.I. Policies (The New York Times, Sept. 25) - "The federal Education Department accused New York, Chicago and Fairfax, Va., of discrimination and said it would pull federal funds from their magnet schools."

Related articles:

• Broward schools must end Latino leadership course or lose $30M grant, feds say (Miami Herald, Sept. 29) - "Broward County Public Schools received an ultimatum from the U.S. Department of Education: end a Latino leadership course or lose a $30 million grant. Now, Latinos in Action courses have been canceled for the spring 2026 semester."
• Trump administration threatens to withhold nearly $18 million from Cedar Rapids schools (The Gazette, Sept. 27) - "The Cedar Rapids school district on Friday announced an end to its 30-year partnership with the Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success at the direction of the Office for Civil Rights. The Academy for Scholastic and Personal Success is a Cedar Rapids-based nonprofit that offers Black and biracial students summer experiences, academic year initiatives and college readiness support while nurturing pride in their identities and communities. It served an average of 110 students in the Cedar Rapids district each year."
• CPS Stands by Black Student Success Plan, Transgender Supports as Trump Administration Withholds Millions in Funding (WTTW News, Sept. 25) - "Interim CPS CEO Macquline King on Thursday stood by the district’s commitment to its existing policies after the Department of Education threatened to withhold the district’s Magnet Schools Assistance Program and other grants, claiming the Black Student Success Plan and transgender protections are discriminatory. The Department of Education’s Office [for] Civil Rights last week demanded CPS eliminate those plans and policies by Tuesday in order to still receive the grant funding. But the department has confirmed CPS — as well as New York City Public Schools and Fairfax County Public Schools — failed to meet that deadline and will lose the federal funds."
• Trump administration pulls millions in funding from Chicago Public Schools (Chicago Sun-Times, Sept. 24) - "The Trump administration told Chicago Public Schools Tuesday that it will cancel a grant after the school district failed to abolish the Black Student Success Plan, as the U.S. Department of Education’s Office [for] Civil Rights demanded. CPS also refused to comply with the federal government’s second demand, that it issue a statement barring transgender students from using bathrooms or competing in sports that coincide with their gender identity."
• NYC Mayor Eric Adams targets transgender student bathroom access (Chalkbeat New York, Sept. 18) - "Adams’ comments....come[] shortly after the Trump administration threatened to hold up federal grant funding to New York City for magnet schools because it believes the city’s policies on transgender students violate civil rights laws."
• Trump wants to end school desegregation grant. How it could impact Wake County. (The News & Observer, Sept. 11) - "Wake County operates magnet programs across the district to reduce the percentage of low-income students in schools and to compete with charter schools and private schools. Wake has won more than $100 million in MSAP grants since 1985....Wake says the Education Department wanted more information on the district’s equity policy, minority business policy and Title IX policy."

ED SEEKS TO PRIORITIZE "PATRIOTIC EDUCATION"

On September 17, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education announced a proposed supplementary priority regarding "patriotic education." ED stated that the "priority will be used in grant competitions across the Department to promote a civic education that teaches American history, values, and geography with an unbiased approach." The supplemental priority builds on past executive orders, such as Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling (January 2025) and Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History (March 2025).

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

"Patriotic education presents American history in a way that is accurate, honest, and inspiring. It emphasizes a unifying and uplifting portrayal of the nation's founding ideals, highlights the progress the United States has made in living up to those principles, especially the battles fought by civil rights heroes to extend the protections of the U.S. Constitution to all citizens, and affirms that dedication to America's core values is both meaningful and justified."

Comments on this proposed priority are due by October 17, 2025. If your organization has responded to this action in any way, please share your responses!

Related articles:

• Ed. Dept. Will Emphasize ‘Patriotic Education’ in Grant Competitions (Education Week, Sept. 17) - "The U.S. Department of Education unveiled plans Wednesday to promote 'patriotic education' in civics and history classrooms—a cause that President Donald Trump, who has accused schools of foisting overly critical views of the United States on students, has championed since his first term."
• Trump Admin. Cancels Dozens More Grants, Hitting Civics, Arts, and Higher Ed. (Education Week, Sept. 16) - "The Trump administration’s education grant cancellation spree has accelerated in recent weeks, with millions of dollars abruptly cut off for several dozen ongoing projects promoting civics, arts, and literacy education, and preparing K-12 students for college. In the last few weeks, the U.S. Department of Education has quietly issued 'non-continuation' notices for at least nine federally funded projects helping middle and high schoolers prepare for college; at least nine arts education initiatives; close to 20 projects centered around American history; and at least two efforts to supply free books to schoolchildren from low-income families, according to interviews with grant recipients and education advocates."

OTHER UPDATES

• Appeals Court Says Ed. Dept. Can Fire Civil Rights Staff Office for civil rights employees had already begun returning to work (Education Week, Sept. 30) - "The decision from a three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, issued Monday, comes as the department had, under that lower-court order, slowly begun bringing back the 264 office for civil rights employees it had planned to let go in a seismic layoff earlier this year. The department brought back 85 employees in September, and planned to bring back another 60 every two weeks through the start of November, according to a recent court filing."
• Presidential Memoranda: Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence (White House, Sept. 25) - calls for a "comprehensive national strategy to investigate, prosecute, and disrupt entities and individuals engaged in acts of political violence and intimidation designed to suppress lawful political activity or obstruct the rule of law." A related fact sheet can be found here. This memorandum builds on an Executive Order issued on September 22, Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization.
• Related: The Americans Against Government Censorship issued two related statements: a Statement on Antifa Executive Order and The Trump Administration Picks its Latest Target
• Related: Justice Dept. Official Pushes Prosecutors to Investigate George Soros’s Foundation (The New York Times, Sept. 25) - "The directive suggests department leaders are following orders from the president, a major break from decades of past practice meant to insulate the agency from political interference."
• Loan Forgiveness for Teachers of Color Is Discriminatory, Trump Admin. (EdWeek, Sept. 16) - "The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday sued the Rhode Island Department of Education and Providence Public Schools over a loan-forgiveness program aimed at enticing teachers of color to work in the state’s largest school district."
• Education Dept. to End Funding for Minority-Serving Institutions, Affecting Hundreds of Colleges (The Chronicle of Higher Education, Sept. 10) - "The Education Department announced its intention Wednesday to end grant funding for minority-serving institutions, a move affecting hundreds of colleges that serve a disproportionate number of students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups."

ISSUES TO WATCH

Request for Information; Feedback on Redesigning the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) (Department of Education, Sept. 25) - The RFI "seek[s] public input on how IES can modernize its programs, processes, and priorities to better serve the needs of the field and American students." Comments are due on October 15.

A group of former (mostly retired) career employees from the ED's Office for Civil Rights sent a letter expressing concern to Attorney General Bondi regarding the Department of Justice's “Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding on Unlawful Discrimination.”

The letter states, "We write today because we do not believe this Guidance is grounded on a defensible reading of the civil rights statutes or judicial precedent. Also, we can state unequivocally that this Guidance is harmful and will reduce civil rights law enforcement, social justice, and equal protection, particularly in the education context." It concludes: "we believe this Guidance cannot stand."

NCSD STAFF UPDATES

What We've Been Up to Recently

UPCOMING CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

NCSD Director Gina Chirichigno will speak at Magnet Schools of America's 2025 Policy Training Conference, being held October 29-31 in Washington, DC. The session, "Reclaiming the School Choice Narrative: Centering Diversity, Excellence, and Enrollment Growth," will also feature Ramin Taheri (Magnet Schools of America), Jon Wren (Metro Nashville Public Schools), Peter Anderson (Washington Latin), and Ary Amerikaner (Brown's Promise).

If you are an NCSD member and are interested in attending this conference for the first time, please email gchirichigno@prrac.org.

We'll also be presenting at the Education Law Association Conference, being held November 5-8 in Kansas City. This session, Lessons Learned from Kansas City’s Missouri v. Jenkins School Desegregation Case, will be co-led by NCSD intern Esha Bolar. If you have studied this case, we'd love to hear from you and get your feedback. We hope to see you there!

NEW TOOLS

Redrawing the Lines: How Purposeful School System Redistricting Can Increase Funding Fairness and Decrease Segregation - What if states could give all kids fairer access to school funding, just by drawing smarter maps? The latest release from New America's Zahava Stadler and Jordan Abbott shows how purposeful redistricting can boost fairness and diversity without moving kids or burdening budgets. The project's accompanying interactive map and data tool can be found here.

Analysis of how the Trump and House Republican budget proposals would hit K-12 schools in every congressional district. Which Congressional Districts Would Lose the Most K–12 Funding Under the Trump and House Education Budgets?

Tracking lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s K-12 education agenda - This project tracks ongoing legal challenges to the Trump administration’s executive actions related to K-12 education. This includes legal challenges to executive orders and non-binding guidance documents that threaten to withhold federal funding from K-12 schools and other education institutions for actions that do not align with Trump administration priorities, as well as efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education (ED). A related brief can be found here.

NCSD MEMBER UPDATES

NEWS FROM ACROSS OUR COUNTRY

National -

• So Much for Class-Based Affirmative Action (The Atlantic, Sept. 24) - "Everyone seemed to be in agreement [post-SFFA]: Racial preferences were illegal, but promoting diversity by focusing on nonracial factors, such as income or geography, were fair game. The Trump administration, however, feels differently: It argues that even race-neutral admissions policies are illegal if they are intended to achieve racial diversity. And this interpretation is already starting to have an effect."
• Brown v. Board of Education: Ending the "separate but equal" doctrine (CBS News, Sept. 21) - "In 1940, a brilliant young attorney named Thurgood Marshall started the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund...and began chipping away at segregation in America case by case. In December 1953, Marshall stood before the U.S. Supreme Court and argued that segregation in America was an attempt to keep the formerly enslaved in 'as near that stage as is possible,' and that now was the time to end it. Five months later the court unanimously ruled in his favor."
• Activist and Writer Mary Church Terrell Led the Charge for Desegregation (Smithsonian Magazine, Sept. 11) - "In the decades after the Civil War, as Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation and broad political support for white supremacy flourished, African Americans persevered by building their own educational systems, businesses, and racial justice initiatives. Black women formed literary clubs, racial uplift groups, and social services at settlement houses as a response to attacks on their womanhood and race. Through her writings and activism, Terrell demonstrated the central role of African American women in their mighty struggle to achieve equality."
• The History of School Desegregation Reveals the Job Isn't Done (Time, Sept. 4) - "Trump and his allies argue that the need for DEI has long passed. In their assessments, desegregation and the passage of time have cured all of America’s racial ills....[The Little Rock story] emphasizes the long and complicated nature of desegregation as an ongoing process and still unfulfilled promise. Far from being relegated to America’s past, educational inequality is part of our present. After 60 years of white resistance and institutional complicity, as well as organized Black activism and litigation, Little Rock School District remains — like so many of America’s schools — unequal."

Arkansas -

• How the Hoxie school district’s integration shaped national history (K8 News, Aug. 24) - "Seventy years ago...the Hoxie School Board decided to comply with the Supreme Court Ruling and integrate its schools. 'Locally, it wasn’t that big of a decision. It was smart. The school board stated that it was financially right in the sight of God to do so,' [Terrence] Ward said....While Hoxie wasn’t the first school district in Arkansas or the South to integrate at the time, it was one of the first to face resistance and legal challenges. A national article by Life Magazine gained the attention of segregationists outside the small community. 'The White Citizens Council, along with some other groups, some of those not in Hoxie, but of the county and surrounding counties, once the Life Magazine article came out and hit the shelves, everybody saw it, everybody read it, and realized this was a big deal,' Ward said."

California -

• Belva Davis, a journalist who 'opened doors for a generation', dies aged 92 (The Guardian, Sept. 27) - "From a young age, the harsh realities of racism, along with stories of Black Americans reported by other journalists, inspired her to document the experiences of a country contending with intense racial segregation. 'I wanted to be one of them. I wanted to broadcast the reality of my community to those who could not otherwise imagine it, to fill in that missing perspective,' [Belva] Davis wrote in her memoir."
• San Diego museum exhibit reveals stories of lost neighborhoods (ABC 10 News, Sept. 23) - "A new exhibit at the San Diego African American Museum of Fine Arts is bringing to light the forgotten histories of Black communities that were displaced or erased throughout San Diego County's past."
• The James Otis Lecture Series: Reenactment of the Crawford Busing Controversy (San Bernardino Riverside American Board of Trial Advocates, Sept. 17) - "This civic education program [featured] a powerful reenactment of the busing controversy arising from Mary Ellen Crawford, a Minor, etc., et al., Plaintiff and Respondents, v. Board of Education of the City of Los Angeles et al. (June 28, 1976)....This program explores the court-mandated integration efforts and how the life of the late Judge Paul Egly was forever changed when he was tasked with implementing a busing plan for Los Angeles schools." Note: this video features remarks by Professor Gary Orfield.

Colorado -

• Sign reading 'Bring back Jim Crow' spotted over Denver highway (The Denver Post, Sept. 16) - "A sign calling for the return of racial segregation laws was spotted over — and quickly removed from — Interstate 25 in Denver on Sunday....According to Fox31, which first reported the signs, one read 'Bring back Jim Crow.'"
• Colorado Springs stop in Black Motorist 'Green Book' designated National Historic Landmark (Rocky Mountain PBS, Sept. 6) - "A big misunderstanding about how racism worked in America, [Candacy] Taylor said, is that the Jim Crow south was the most dangerous place for Black Americans. However, there were more 'sundown towns' – places that were life-threatening for Black travelers to be after dark – in the west and the midwest than in the south. This was due in part to the lack of Black residents outside of the south, she said."

Connecticut -

• Connecticut has 22 charter schools in operation with several more approved to open (CT Insider, Sept. 6) - "Connecticut has 22 charter schools in operation, representing a small but steady share of the state’s education system, with several more approved for opening....In Connecticut, nearly 11,000 students attend charter schools, with 92% identifying as students of color and 69% coming from low-income families, according to the Connecticut Charter Schools Association." Note: RAP member Casey Cobb is quoted in this piece.

Delaware -

• Delaware Historical Society presents book talk on desegregation in the First State (Delaware Public Media, Sept. 30) - "Kathy Doyle’s book, Allies for Justice: How Louis Redding and Collins Seitz Changed the Complexions of America’s Schools, explores the state’s role in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education."
• How racism led James Brown, other stars to Delaware concerts at a famous Black beach (Delaware Online, Sept. 3) - "Since entertainment venues and hotel options for Black performers were limited during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation (which lasted into the 1960s), Rosedale Beach emerged as a beloved destination for Black crowds and icons."

Florida -

• Historic Campbell Hotel in Daytona Beach could be preserved or demolished (WESH2, Sept. 5) - "The Campbell Hotel in Midtown Daytona Beach now sits empty, condemned after a fire two years ago. The building, with deep roots in the community, has sparked conversation about preservation and potential redevelopment....During the Jim Crow era, the hotel was one of the few places in Daytona Beach where African Americans could stay. Now, city leaders are weighing what to do with the site."
• 55-year-old Florida school desegregation case is officially over (News Service of Florida, Sept. 17) "More than 55 years after the federal government targeted school segregation in rural North Florida, a judge Tuesday ruled the Jackson County school district has met desegregation requirements and ended a lawsuit against the district."

Georgia -

• It Was Supposed to Connect Segregated Neighborhoods. Did It Gentrify Them Instead? (The New York Times, Sept. 2) - "Atlanta is one of dozens of cities turning degraded waterways, abandoned train tracks and other obsolete infrastructure into lively public spaces. The High Line, the 1.45-mile elevated park built on an abandoned rail line on New York City’s west side, is perhaps the best known, but the Beltline, which is expected to be completed in 2030, is likely the largest. The idea was the subject of Ryan Gravel’s thesis paper in 1999, when he was a graduate student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Mr. Gravel had seen that people were flocking to Atlanta’s in-town neighborhoods after decades of white families’ moving to suburban towns. He proposed that the fallow land from the old freight tracks be used for a transit corridor connecting 45 neighborhoods that had long been segregated by race and class — divisions that the tracks helped enforce — and providing transportation for those without cars or the ability to hop on a bike. But the transit part of Mr. Gravel’s proposal languished, while trail building forged ahead."

Kentucky -

• 4 takeaways from the Courier Journal's discussion on busing, desegregation in JCPS (The Courier-Journal, Sept. 18) - "[Professor Tracy] K'Meyer referenced her experience interviewing people for her book about busing, 'From Brown to Meredith: The Long Struggle for School Desegregation in Louisville, Kentucky, 1954-2007.' 'It was interesting for me to see real people on the ground, in the midst of the riots and the demonstrations and the constant letters to the editor criticizing busing, all that's also true, but there were people who took it upon themselves to try to do something to make it better,' K'Meyer said."
• How Louisville's Catholic schools took a bold stance on busing (The Courier-Journal, Sept. 4) - "While some families did abandon public schools to avoid desegregation and new private schools opened to accommodate them, Louisville Archbishop Thomas McDonough took a stance that helped set the city on a different course — encouraging integration in both the classroom and the church. While private school enrollment across the South jumped by more than 200,000 students in the mid-1960s to 1980, Louisville's enrollment fell from 46,000 students in 1964-65 to 33,000 in 1978-79, according to a report from the Jefferson County Education Consortium." Note: RAP member Erica Frankenberg is quoted in this piece.
• 50 years after busing, new JCPS plan is making schools less diverse (The Courier-Journal, Sept. 4) - "District and community leaders knew the [student assignment] changes could lead to increased racial and economic segregation. But the payoff, they argued, would be worth it for Black students who had long carried the burden of busing. Two years into the plan, a Courier Journal analysis found schools are already becoming less diverse, as predicted. But some say the payoff hasn’t followed."

Louisiana -

• Louisiana Lets a Relic of Jim Crow Stand (Prison Journalism Project, Sept. 11) - Author Trevor Reece writes: "But I believe Louisiana has again failed to confront one of the most shameful relics of its Jim Crow past. In this country, guilt must be proven 'beyond a reasonable doubt,' which effectively means that verdicts should be unanimous. Nonunanimous verdicts are problematic because they often allow juries with white majorities to override those from other communities that disagree. Louisiana cannot move forward while it is still clinging to this legal relic of racial exclusion. SB 218 offered a path to justice, but lawmakers decided not to take it."

Massachusetts -

• New book tells the story of a Mass. senator who pushed for school integration a century before it became reality (WBUR, Sept. 11) - "The phrase 'equality before the law' is so foundational to American life, it's easy to forget someone had to make the case for it. That person was Charles Sumner, a Boston-born senator and abolitionist. A new biography by Zaakir Tameez called 'Conscience of a Nation' takes a fresh look at Sumner's life. Tameez joins WBUR's Morning Edition to talk about Sumner's fight for school desegregation and justice in America."

Michigan -

• Peter Blackmer Illuminates Harlem's Civil Rights History in New Book (EMU Today - Eastern Michigan University, n.d.) - "Peter Blackmer, associate professor of Africology and African American Studies, has a new book out with the University of Virginia Press. Unleashing Black Power explores the local dynamics, national connections, and global context of the Black freedom movement in Harlem from 1954 to 1964, illuminating how activists, organizers, and ordinary people mounted their resistance to systemic racism in the Jim Crow North."

Mississippi -

• Mississippi's second largest school district wants out of federal desegregation orders (Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Sept. 22) - "Angela English, the president of the Rankin County NAACP chapter, has four grandchildren in the county’s public schools. She says Black children often struggle to get into the county’s gifted program or to afford extracurricular activities. 'I think what we have is a different tactic for segregation,' she said. 'There are many different ways that you can exclude a person.' Jennifer Holmes, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, agrees that areas like faculty and student diversity and extracurricular activities need improvement."
• Rankin County schools seek release from desegregation order (Mississippi Today, Sept. 18) - "A desegregation order is more than just a request for annual reporting. Parents and community members can invoke it to seek to put a stop to discriminatory practices in their district."
• Judge hears arguments over Rankin County schools desegregation consent decree (WAPT, Sept. 16) - "A federal judge heard evidence from both sides as the Rankin County School District fights to end a consent decree over school desegregation. For the past 60 years, the district has been under a desegregation order from a consent decree after African American parents filed a federal lawsuit in 1967 to force the district to integrate."
• 150 years ago, a political rally turned into a massacre in Clinton (WAPT, Sept. 7) - "It's been 150 years since the Clinton Massacre that left seven people dead and dozens injured. The event on Sept. 4, 1875, at the site of Moss Hill Plantation in Clinton, began as a political rally involving more than 1,000 Black Republicans. It quickly erupted into violence. The attack was orchestrated by white militias in an effort to suppress Black political power and voting. The event was a pivotal moment in Mississippi history, restoring power to white Democrats and effectively ending Reconstruction, while paving the way for Jim Crow."

New York -

• Kids claim NYC gifted school segregation at top state court (Courthouse News Service, Sept. 10) - "New York attorneys on Wednesday afternoon urged the state’s top court to throw out a civil rights challenge to racial disparities within New York City’s gifted and talented program, which sorts public school students into specialized academic tracks separate from the general education system....The Court of Appeals did not immediately rule from the bench on Wednesday afternoon."

North Carolina -

• History on a stick (The Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, Sept. 23) - "The Center for Racial Equity in Education (CREED) joined with the Gates County Historical Society and other local and state officials to unveil a historic highway marker at T.S. Cooper School in Sunbury on Sept. 6. The event and the marker honored [Annie Wealthy] Holland (1866-1934) who founded the North Carolina Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers, the first such organization for African Americans in North Carolina."
• ‘We didn’t have any opportunity at all’: Students faced many obstacles in segregated schools (The Wilson Times, Sept. 23) - "The 84-year-old Maplewood, New Jersey, resident wants people to know the hardship that young African Americans had during segregation, when Black children and white children went to separate schools. 'Young people today are not even aware of what was happening back in these days,' [Vernell] Elliott recalled during a recent visit to Wilson. 'The younger generation has no idea. To me, this is history. We didn’t have any opportunity at all. None.'"
• Joseph McNeil, Member of ‘Greensboro Four’ Who Protested Segregation at Lunch Counters, Dies at 83 (Smithsonian Magazine, Sept. 8) - "Joseph McNeil, one of the 'Greensboro Four' who sparked nationwide demonstrations over segregated lunch counters in 1960, has died at age 83....In a 2017 interview for the Smithsonian display, McNeil said the experience taught him the value of persistence and optimism. 'I walked away with an attitude that if our country is screwed up, don’t give up,' he said, as reported by Smithsonian magazine’s Christopher Wilson in 2020. 'Unscrew it, but don’t give up.'”
• Related: Joseph McNeil, Young Spark in a Civil Rights Battle, Dies at 83 (The New York Times, Sept. 5) - “'What we did, we thought was the right thing to do to clear up a wrong,' Mr. McNeil later told the Long Island newspaper Newsday, explaining that he and his friends had grown up with a sense of worth that made them increasingly fed up with Jim Crow discrimination and eager to be treated with basic decency and respect."
• Honoring community in York County and a segregation-era school for Black students (The Charlotte Observer, Sept. 3) - "On Saturday morning, a new historical marker honoring Jefferson High will be unveiled on Pinckney Street. An alumni group, Jefferson Remembered, partnered with York County’s Culture & Heritage Museums and the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission to create it. The goal is to stir the collective memory of Jefferson High in the community, not just put up a sign."
• Plymouth residents commemorate 60th anniversary of school integration with unity march (News 12, Aug. 31) - "This year marks the 60th anniversary of the integration of schools in Washington County. Many areas throughout North Carolina are known for their commitment during the civil rights movement, but the small town of Plymouth in Washington is often overlooked.
• A new book explores the history of school and residential segregation (WUNC, Aug. 6) - "It began with the founding of the Federal Housing Administration, ongoing efforts by housing developers and well-meaning parents hoping to provide the best possible education for their small children."

Ohio -

• Op-ed: Cincinnati education is segregated. These three schools can change that. (Cincinnati Enquirer, Aug. 28) - "As a good neighborly act, three suburban school districts − Indian Hill, Madeira and Mariemont − should open their doors to student transfers from Cincinnati Public Schools through the open enrollment process. Presently, these school districts have not adopted the open enrollment process authorized by Ohio law."

Oklahoma -

• Oklahoma City library to change name, part ways with segregation association (The Oklahoman, Sept. 26) - "An Oklahoma City library is changing its name to reflect values of inclusion, parting ways with a former connection with segregation. The Wright Library at 2101 Exchange Ave. was initially named after John H. Wright, a former Oklahoma City Library board chairman who pushed for segregation....Library administrators told KOCO that memorializing someone who stood for segregation does not align with the library's beliefs and values - a welcoming space for everyone - and it was time to move forward."

South Carolina -

• Five Points property with Civil Rights history could be converted into housing (The State, Sept. 15) - "The corner of Harden and Gervais streets in Columbia’s busy Five Points neighborhood could be getting even more housing – with the possible revival of a historic property that filled a need in Columbia’s African American community during the Jim Crow era."
• This Day in History: Sept. 10, 1895: SC Constitutional Convention convenes (WCSC, Sept. 10) - "A U.S. senator from South Carolina and his political allies launched the South Carolina Constitutional Convention on Sept. 10, 1895, to disenfranchise Black voters and establish Jim Crow laws in the state. U.S. Sen. Ben 'Pitchfork' Tillman had been working for 10 years to set up a meeting designed to roll back the Reconstruction Constitution adopted in 1868 that gave Black men equal protection under the law. The new constitution would establish a poll tax and a literacy test in order to vote. It also included outlawed interracial marriage and segregated schools."
• SC law banning 8 concepts on race from classrooms can remain in place, judge says (News Index-Journal, Sept. 9) - “'The court recognizes that the issues raised are matters of public importance,' [U.S. District Judge Sherri] Lydon wrote. But because the people suing lacked the legal standing to challenge it, 'the Constitution leaves their resolution to the democratic process rather than the federal courts.'”

Tennessee -

• Bobby Cain, part of the Clinton 12 who integrated Tennessee public schools, dies at 85 (News Channel 5, Sept. 23) - "Bobby Cain, one of the first Black students to integrate public schools in the South in 1956 has died at the age of 85."
• Pink Palace Hosts Exhibit on Jim Crow Era and Resilience (WREG News Channel 3, Sept. 9) - "Kevin Thompson shares how MoSH’s new exhibit explores overcoming struggle, with a panel set for Sept. 18."

Texas -

• 60 years from Aledo integration (The Community News, Sept. 18) - "It was early September 60 years ago when bus 22A pulled up to three Aledo campuses and students of color began attending school in Aledo. It took a full 11 years after the landmark Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court Case for it to be accomplished in Aledo, and even longer in other Texas school districts....Jeff Brazzell and Alice Trishell Cain, both of Weatherford, were two of the students who got off the bus that day, and they have shared their story."

Virginia -

• Virginia researchers link housing and education, offer policy insights through new website (Virginia Mercury, Sept. 18) - "Over the summer, the University of Richmond launched the Live and Learn website, a new feature of a study examining the connection between housing segregation and educational inequality in Richmond and its surrounding areas released last year. The new interactive site will help inform educators, experts, and policymakers about the local links between housing and education....Some of the visualizations revealed unequal educational opportunities and outcomes for some Central Virginians, which were linked to housing segregation and funding disparities. Researchers focused on eight localities in the metro Richmond area: Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover, New Kent, Goochland, Powhatan, and Charles City."
• Rocktown History exhibit tells the story of Virginia school integration (Daily News-Record, Sept. 16) - "There’s still time to see an exhibit on public school integration in Virginia at Rocktown History, but the opportunity won’t last much longer. The exhibit, 'Resilience Amid Resistance,' opened on the anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision on May 17 and coincided with the unveiling of a marker at the federal courthouse in downtown Harrisonburg. It is closing on Saturday."

Wisconsin -

• UW–Madison's first African American research lab conducts survey on Black affirming spaces (WMTV, Sept. 22) - "University of Wisconsin- Madison’s first research lab in the African American Studies department is collecting data on spaces where Black people thrive throughout the city."
• Op-ed: Blaming Black families won't fix Milwaukee. Mentoring youth might. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sept. 7) - "Blaming Black families accomplishes nothing. Personal responsibility is, of course, important, but if we cannot move beyond blame and judgment, this cycle will continue indefinitely. The impacts of slavery and corresponding dehumanization in US founding documents, convict leasing, lynchings, Jim Crow, segregation at all levels of government, and pervasive racism cannot be overstated and the negative messages many internalize as a result have had devastating consequences."
• The Most Segregated City in the United States: A Microcosm of Black Life (The Good Men Project, Sept. 1) - "Back in 2013, I called Milwaukee a 'Third World City.' That wasn’t for shock value — it was the honest description for what I saw and lived: stark segregation, economic abandonment, Black neighborhoods left behind, schools closing, jobs disappearing, and violence filling the void."

CROSS-MOVEMENT RESOURCES

From the National Newcomer Network

• Trump Announcement on Public Benefits Does Not Change Legal Protections for K–12 Students – Recent interpretive notices from the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services regarding immigrants’ potential eligibility for certain federally funded programs have caused confusion and concern. NNN, TCF, and NILC released a joint two-pager to clarify what the new federal notices mean for program providers and the potential risks for students, especially immigrant students.
• An Educator’s Checklist for Supporting Immigrant Students in Schools – Schools should be safe spaces for all students. However, recent shifts in national immigration policy and related initiatives are having a chilling effect and threatening that core value. TCF and the NNN collaborated with the National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Immigration Law Center (NILC), ImmSchools, and other key partners to produce a five-step advocacy guide for educators to preserve the integrity of the learning environment and ensure the safety of all students, regardless of citizenship status.
• Falling Short on Newcomers: A Report Card on How Well States Support Newly Arrived Immigrant Students – The responsibility to protect all students' rights and uphold the quality of education they receive falls on all levels of the system. But with a government bent on restricting education for immigrant youth, states have become the frontline defense. TCF researchers conducted a comprehensive fifty-state scan to better understand state policies shaping the educational experiences of newcomer youth. Throughout the report, researchers highlight promising practices and lay out a clear roadmap of policy recommendations for state leaders.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

SEPT 27-NOV 26

San Antonio, TX

EXHIBIT - Cisneros V. Corpus Christi ISD: The Long Fight to End School Segregation

MACRI Visitor Center

Learn about the history of Cisneros v. Corpus Christi ISD (1970), the coalition of people behind the case, and how it fits into larger legal struggles to improve Mexican American access to public education.

OCT 23

Washington, DC

Virtual

Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research

American Education Research Association

James A. Banks will reflect "on the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision through the lens of his own experience growing up in a racially segregated community in the Arkansas Delta."

OCT 24

Washington, DC

Everyday Democracy: How Local Leaders are Building Trust and Belonging

New America

Join us from 10am-12pm for an in-person event that will highlight resident-led assemblies, co-governance, and creative community practices that strengthen civic life and foster belonging in polarized times.

NOV 5

Virtual

Inaugural Online Conference

APA Public Schools + Communities Division

"The goal of the conference is to highlight the amazing work happening in school planning around the country, exchange ideas, and to gain valuable insights into current trends, challenges, and innovations in the field. Registration will open in August."

NOV 14-16

New Orleans, LA

65th New Orleans Four Legacy Weekend

An event commemorating The New Orleans Four (Gail Etienne, Ruby Bridges, Leona Tate, and the late Tessie Prevost).

DEC 8

Waltham, MA

Beyond the Civil Rights Era: Black Power and the Black Arts Movement

Primary Source

Too often, students’ understanding of African American history ends with the successes of the Civil Rights Movement, leaving an unfinished narrative that overlooks the progress and challenges that followed in the decades to come. This program examines the rise of the Black Power and Black Arts Movements in the late 1960s and 1970s—intertwined efforts that advanced self-determination, political empowerment, and a flourishing of Black cultural expression. Working with scholars and peers, participants will explore key figures and analyze primary sources—including music, literature, and visual art—while developing classroom strategies to connect this era to broader themes of equity, identity, and civic engagement. The program also offers opportunities to engage with Making Freedom, Primary Source’s online digital curriculum, which provides a rich collection of resources for teaching African American history from the pre-colonial era to the present.

"But to those of us who know the struggle is far from over history has another lesson: it tells us how deeply rooted habits of prejudice are, dominating the minds of men and all our institutions for three centuries; and it cautions us to continue to move forward lest we fall back."

–Thurgood Marshall (1966)