eNews
The 88th Texas Legislative Session just wrapped up, and all eyes were on our schools. Public education was central to major legislative battles.
Learn MoreIDRA Newsletter
- The Importance of Artificial Intelligence in Education for All Students
- Classroom Censorship Laws Sweep Across the U.S. South
- Identity-Based Bullying Undermines Student Safety and Success
- IDRA 50th Anniversary Snapshot – Brown v. Board of Education
- IDRA José A. Cárdenas School Finance Fellows Symposium Held
- Recent News
eNews
As we remember the teachers and young students who were killed and injured in Uvalde and stand as allies with their families who continue to fight for them, we uplift a call to action.
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Hearings this week will address:
- Public school funding and private school voucher bill
- No other scheduled education hearings - the end is near!
eNews
In today’s climate of classroom censorship, teachers still have a job to do to provide accurate and inclusive education for their students. IDRA developed its award-winning We All Belong – School Resource Hub by first listening to teachers and students who want lessons on history and current events about race and gender and to help provide context to discrimination they have experienced.
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Two IDRA José A. Cárdenas School Finance Fellows, Dr. Vanessa A. Sansone and Dr. David Martínez, will present their research at our virtual symposium, along with a team of high school students who will present their research.
- Dr. Vanessa A. Sansone: An Exploration of CARES Act Funding Policies Affecting Hispanic-Serving Institutions in Texas
- Dr. David Martínez: A Disproportionality Analysis of South Carolina School Finance Policy Priorities in High Proportion LatinX Districts During COVID-19
- Student team: Culturally Responsive Education and School Discipline in Texas Schools: A Mixed-Methods Case Study
eNews
Since our founding 50 years ago, IDRA has provided analysis and guidance to policymakers nationally while engaging with communities, educators and students on policy issues to ensure all students have access to equitable and excellent education. IDRA recenlty released our policy priorities to promote educational justice, build excellent and equitable schools, and protect the civil rights of systemically-excluded students, particularly those who are Black, Latino and/or emergent bilingual students.
Learn MoreeNews: Professional Development for Educators
Learn how to integrate AI technology into your classroom in meaningful ways. In this three-day virtual academy, you will explore the many benefits of AI in education, including efficiency, personalized learning and student engagement.
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Hearings this week:
- Bans on diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education
- Bans on providing faculty tenure in public colleges and universities
- Offering ethnic studies courses in high schools
- Changes to teacher compensation and contracts
- The CROWN Act to ban discrimination by hairstyle in schools
IDRA Newsletter
- IDRA Milestones Across Five Decades to Fulfill the Promise of Education that Every Student Deserves
- One Mission, Many Paths – 50 Years of Transforming Education by Putting Children First
- IDRA Paths and Bridges ~ Caminos y Puentes de IDRA, A poem by Aurelio Montemayor, IDRA’s longest-serving staff member
- Anniversary goodies
- and more!
eNews
-Freedom to Learn National Day of Action
-The Texas Legislature Advances Censorship from Pre-K to Higher Education
-Teaching about Race & Culture
eNews
This Month Colorado & Idaho Became the 28th & 29th States to End Corporal Punishment in their Schools. Texas Could Have Been Next
Check out our new maps to see if corporal punishment is happening near you and what you can do about it!
Learn MoreeNews
One in four students in this country experience bullying related to their race, national origin, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation. Teachers want to help but feel unequipped and afraid to address identity-based bullying and harassment due to misinformation about Texas’ classroom censorship laws that limit discussions of such topics as race and gender in schools.
IDRA is releasing a new issue brief, Identity-based Bullying in Texas Schools – Policy Recommendations, that describes how widespread this problem is across the state, how it increases risk for mental health challenges and exacerbates existing traumas, and steps Texas can take to strengthen policies prohibiting and preventing identity-based bullying.
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Texas is one of 23 states in the United States that allows corporal punishment in schools. Thousands of young Texans are hit in their schools every year, despite research showing that corporal punishment harms students physically, emotionally, socially, and academically and creates unsafe school climates. The Texas Legislature has the power to stop this outdated, harmful and unnecessary form of school-based violence and must use that power immediately.
Learn MoreInteractive Map
IDRA’s newest map shows corporal punishment data for public school districts in Texas. You can see the number of corporal punishment incidents in each school district or legislative district.
Learn MorePodcast
Classnotes Podcast (March 20, 2023). In the 1960s, students across Texas walked out of their schools to demand a strong … read more
Listen NowEvent
On the 50th anniversary of this momentous ruling, IDRA, Trinity University and its Center for Education Leadership, and Edgewood ISD are hosting a commemorative event to reflect on the case, its impact, and its legacy of struggle and activism.
This case led to IDRA’s founding, also 50 years ago. See the livestream recording.
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Approximately one in four students in this country experience bullying related to their race, national origin, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation. Sen. José Menéndez, Chairman of the Senate Hispanic Caucus, and Rep. Ron Reynolds, Chairman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, filed Senate Bill 2185 and House Bill 4625 to strengthen Texas laws prohibiting and preventing identity-based bullying and harassment in schools.
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The Texas Senate passed Senate Resolution 262 to recognize IDRA’s 50th anniversary in 2023 and celebrate its commitment to education equity and excellence. The resolution was filed by Sen. José Menéndez and co-authored by Sen. Judith Zaffirini and Sen. Roland Gutierrez.
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San Antonio middle school students who are in at-risk situations are becoming the next generation of software coders through IDRA’s innovative project, VisionCoders™. In the new course, eighth graders in two South San Antonio ISD schools are piloting the IDRA VisionCoders class to create educational games for prekindergarten, kindergarten and first grade students.
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Exclusionary discipline is not the answer to bullying, harassment or discrimination, whether that discipline is applied against the young person engaging in the bullying or the young person experiencing the bullying.
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In 2023, IDRA is celebrating its 50th year of working for excellence in education for all children. We are taking a little time to reflect on relationships we have built and on some of the changes we have seen since 1973 when a small group of concerned citizens set out to change the world.
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A new analysis shows that directives in Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s anti-equity Executive Order 1 do not apply to local school division policy or practice. IDRA released today the study and guide for school leaders, What Virginia’s Anti-Equity Executive Order 1 and Reports Mean for K-12 Schools and Students, to help them continue to promote culturally sustaining school practices.
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In statehouses across the country, opponents of public education seek to censor teacher speech, limit what students can say and learn about racism and current events, and whitewash history. But as IDRA’s new We All Belong – School Resource Hub shows, these forces will not prevail. Educators are committed to serving their students well by strengthening education, not watering it down or hiding from the truth.
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