In 2019, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) published its Monitoring Educational Equity report. In this report, a committee of researchers, policymakers and practitioners outlined a series of equity domains and indicators that provide a framework for understanding, assessing and monitoring educational equity.
To make this framework actionable for state policymakers, Education Commission of the States worked with the National Comprehensive Center to develop a scan of existing state policies that align with the NASEM domains and indicators and identify other state policy examples that may improve educational equity.
From the findings, Education Commission of the States produced four case summaries that highlight potential connections between state policy efforts and equity. Each summary provides broad context about disparities affecting students, innovative state strategies, data connecting policy to student outcomes and promising future efforts.
While some strategies may produce outcomes that clearly reduce disparities among student groups, others may only show promising practices that have the potential to impact student outcomes.
State Case Summaries
- Reducing Disparities in Exclusionary Discipline Practices in Arkansas.
- Leveraging Community Schools to Improve Access to Health Services in California.
- Advancing Postsecondary Opportunity Through Dual Enrollment in Louisiana.
- Developing Infrastructure to Support Equitable Digital Expansion in New Mexico.
Trends in State Strategies
Each case summary topic varies, but common themes emerged across state examples, such as:
- Multiple policies. While a single piece of legislation may have acted as a catalyst for some state approaches, each state enacted multiple policies to achieve the intended policy goal.
- Collaboration and communication. Implementing policies required clear communication across state and local levels and often collaboration across multiple agencies.
- Data collection and evaluation. In order to determine the impact of a policy, each state approach incorporated some level of data collection, reporting and/or ongoing evaluation.
