Civil Rights community details education landscape in 2023

The Leadership Conference Education Fund — joined by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) — held a press briefing to discuss urgent education priorities for 2023. The civil rights community detailed threats and opportunities for students in the new year and foreshadowed what to expect. Experts and advocates spoke on the Supreme Court challenges to federal student loan debt cancellation and affirmative action in higher education, in addition to school discipline, threats to equal educational opportunity, and early care and education.

“We know that education policy decisions must be informed by the values, priorities, and experiences of marginalized people. For too long, people of color, Native people, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, immigrants, religious minorities, English learners, girls, low-income people, and other marginalized people have had their stories told by someone else. Their opportunity to attend a school that is warm, welcoming, and that prepares them for the full exercise of their social, political, and economic rights has been denied,” said Liz King, senior director of education equity at The Leadership Conference Education Fund. “As students, families, educators, and school communities continue to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we know that a return to 2019 isn’t good enough. Normal isn’t good enough. Every child deserves access to an excellent equitable education that prepares them for the future. It is their right and our national imperative.”

“There are alarming attacks on education equity and pathways to economic opportunity, especially for Black and Latinx people, on this year’s Supreme Court docket. It’s becoming increasingly