Open Letter: What You Need to Know About Education Equity:
I am a life-long resident of Chicago, a born and raised South-sider. I love and am deeply proud of my city, but know all too well that children, particularly in the most underserved communities, do not have equal access to the kind of educational opportunities offered in other parts of the state.
Having worked in the Chicago school district and now at a state-level charter public school association, I’ve visited numerous types of schools across Illinois — magnet schools, STEM-focused schools, and arts-centered schools and the like.
While it is wonderful to see such a diversity of curriculum opportunities for students in our city which no longer geographically binds children to a particular school, it is very clear to me that the way we distribute resources to black and Latinx communities is a choice.
We are choosing to funnel more money into the wealthiest communities while forcing the least of these to fight for the scraps. For me, much of this inequity starts at our state capitol.
As director of Government Affairs for the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and our political sister organizations, I spend about 100 days a year at the Illinois State Capitol engaging in conversations with legislators about these inequities.
Over the past five years, I’ve worked on numerous pieces of legislation related to funding, pensions, and local board governance.
“While I am proud of the work that I’ve done at the capitol on behalf of the students we serve, many of whom are from communities just like mine, I also know that we are not doing nearly enough to right size the ship for our most disenfranchised communities.”
This blog post is an open letter to everyone who cares about educational equity. Pay attention.
Do not get distracted by the charter and choice vs. district vs. union fight. This is a diversion. Yes, I hear you, there are real conversations to be had here. But, I know that most people who look like me are not concerned about school type if it means our babies have more resources, support, and opportunities than they would have otherwise. There are laws from the legislature that will affect our children now and in future generations, and we have elected officials who are more concerned about maintaining their office than doing what’s right for children and families in their community. We have to fix this together!
I’m Just a Bill
We all remember the old “Schoolhouse Rock” lesson, where poor Bill describes his arduous journey to become law. Bill provides a nice overview about how bills travel from committee to the house floor, over to the Senate, back to committee, onto the Senate floor, finally arriving at the desk of the president.
However, Bill leaves out the part where special interest groups spend millions of dollars when not in session to convince legislators to side with them on their issue. This part of the bill making process is as natural as writing the bill itself. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the landmark 2010 supreme court case, held that political spending is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment. The government may not prevent corporations, unions, or associations from spending money to support or denounce electoral candidates.
What does this have to do with black and Latinx families seeking high-quality education options?
It means everything. It means that poor and disenfranchised communities often have limited political connectedness and limited opportunities to create change. Families are forced to pick arbitrary sides when, in truth, neither side is providing one hundred percent of what those families need. Are you for unions or charters? Are you for southern Illinois, rural schools or for Chicago Schools? Are you for suburban, predominately white school districts or poor, low-income students of color? And my personal favorite, are you for black kids or Latinx kids? These are all false dichotomies used to pit communities against each other. We live in an era where you are not allowed to support more than one issue at the same time. I look forward to a time when we focus less on arbitrary divisiveness because it’s politically sexy and more on building bridges to provide tangible resources to our children.
What’s Really Going on in Springfield?
In 2017, the legislature passed landmark funding reform in Illinois. The state went from having the most regressive funding structure in the country to somewhere right in the middle. When I write regressive, I mean that Illinois did not fund kids based on need; rather, state funds were equally distributed to districts across the state — even when local funds far exceeded what the state deemed adequate. Simply speaking, rich and poor districts used to be funded the same way, even though poor children tend to need more resources. This is no longer the case. The evidence-based funding model looks at the type of children a district serves and allocates dollars to children of need, special education, and English language learners at a higher rate.
Did you know that there are proposals to try and roll back this funding for certain types of schools? There are legislators who do not feel that schools should be funded equitably and that needs-based funding are not necessary.
“If you are a teacher at a charter public school in Illinois that serves predominately low-income students of color (that’s every charter teacher in Illinois), you should take a look at House Joint Resolution 68. This resolution purports to create a task force to roll back the funding gains won in the 2017 reform package.”
What about the many moving elected school board bills? There are at least four different elected school board bills that have been introduced this year. Under Mayor-Elect Lori Lightfoot, she is sure to have her own proposals as well. Have you thought through which of these bills is best for the black and Latinx communities?
In 2017, Los Angeles spent $15 million dollars to battle elected school board seats. That is an incredible amount of money for a school board race, the most expensive in history. Read about it here in the LA Times. When some people think elected school board, they think democracy and opportunity. This makes me nervous.
If the Supreme Court does not cap the number of dollars spent on elections and the state of Illinois has not added such provisions in its school board proposals, that means that regular folks, parents, community members, etc., will continue to be precluded from meaningful participation in the electoral process. Or, they will be beholden to the special interests that helped to get them there.
Think about this.
Right now, there are proposals at the state house that would eliminate the teaching testing and certification requirements as we know them today. There is a national teacher shortage, and Illinois has been struggling to retain teachers for many years. This is leading to a bit of crisis, particularly in more rural parts of the state, where they simply cannot find enough teachers to sustain their schools. Some of the proposed solutions from both sides of the aisle include only requiring teachers to have an associate degree, eliminating the basic skills test, and edTPA exams. These legislative proposals have the potential to affect children for generations to come. Do you have an opinion on this? Should the tests be eliminated?
This is great, but I’m an educator, not a politician. What can I do?
Great question, glad you asked! If any of the above pieces of legislation sound like conversations you’d like to be a part of, then you need to make your voice heard. Did you know that you can provide testimony on a bill, both oral and written? Also, be aware of who is on the ballot and up for election in 2020. In Illinois, senators have alternating four-year/two-year terms. Meanwhile, state representatives are elected every two years. A presidential election year always drives higher numbers to the polls, which means that your favorite elected official could be in jeopardy. Alternatively, this is also an opportunity to take someone out who isn’t serving your community well. Attend a community meeting, sign up for your community newsletter, and most importantly listen to legislative sessions online. All committee hearings and floor votes are streamed live. Listen in one day to make sure that your elected official is providing the sort of representation you expect.
Legislative session ends at midnight on May 31. You can expect to see me at the Illinois State Capitol almost every day until then, advocating for what I believe is best for the many children we serve. Educators cannot be complacent. We work in an inherently political and tenuous space.
“We may not always agree on the path forward, but we should all be more diligent in making sure the right voices are at the table making decisions on behalf of our community.”
In community,
Ariel Johnson, 2016 Surge Institute Alumna
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The opinions expressed in this blog posting are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Surge Institute.
