For Release: October 19, 2020
Media Contact: Dorie Turner Nolt, (404) 861-1127, dorie@dorieturnernolt.com
Washington, DC—”The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is a critical tool that shines a light on persistent and long-running inequities that schools need to address, but the numbers alone cannot tell the story—the public needs context and analysis from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on what the data mean for students and schools. After taking far too long to release this information, the Trump administration did so without providing much-needed analysis to go along with millions of data points. This follows an insidious history of this administration’s denials of systemic racism, ranging from their rescission of OCR’s guidance on school discipline and school integration, to the recent executive order prohibiting federal agencies and contractors from engaging in trainings that promote diversity. The federal government is charged by law with protecting students, and the Education Department needs to do its job by using the CRDC as a tool for justice rather than simply checking a box.”
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Deborah S. Delisle is the president and CEO of the Alliance for Excellent Education and served as the U.S. assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education from 2012 to 2015.
The Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) is a Washington, DC–based national policy, practice, and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all students, particularly those underperforming and those historically underserved, graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship. all4ed.org
