Education Policy

The U.S. Congress plays a pivotal role in helping states achieve this goal as it considers reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). IDRA’s track record in educational pedagogy, research and policy on behalf of minority and at-risk school children and emerging communities forms a strong basis for its policy recommendations at the…

IDRA Policy Issues for Texas in 2017 See PDF version Fair Funding Means Equity and Excellence for All Students IDRA Stands All state and local aid made available for public schools should be funded through equalized formulas. All hold-harmless revenue, including Target Revenue, must be terminated and those funds should be redistributed through the formulae…

A child's future should not depend on his or her heritage, parents' income or neighborhood. Our sense of justice insists that America be the land of opportunity where all citizens are considered equal, that wherever a student comes from or lives he or she should have the opportunity to succeed. All children must have access to…

Keeping the Public in Public Schools Diverting public money for private schools takes money away from our communities resulting in higher taxes for homeowners and businesses in the community. Investing in our neighborhood public schools is investing in our community. IDRA believes that the best way to improve public schools is to invest in public…

Accountability that Doesn’t Hurt Children We must make sure our schools are doing a good job with all of our students. But it is not necessary to test all students in order to hold schools accountable for producing good results. For example, when the state tests lakes and rivers for water quality, it does not…

Public schools have a responsibility to educate all students who enter their doors. This naturally includes children who arrive at school speaking a language other than English. Many educators have the training and skills they need to help students learn English while they are also learning English. But in far too many schools, they do…

Many students are unable to get into college. Among those who do get in, many are unable to finish. In order to be economically competitive, our nation needs more college graduates. And we need more graduates from all groups, including low-income students and minority students, who are currently under-represented and are more likely to face…

The Texas Latino Education Coalition (TLEC) is a collaborative of organizations and individuals who advocate the rights of Latinos at the local, state and national levels. The coalition was organized to focus specifically on critical educational issues in Texas and improve the state of education for Latino students in public schools. Its education agenda is…

Teaching Quality Success in school means having quality teachers, i.e., teachers who know their subject, who know effective instructional practices and who value their students. Unfortunately, many students – particularly those who are in poor schools or high-minority schools – do not have access to enough of these teachers. Some schools do not provide quality…

After years of research and practice have demonstrated the failure of student tracking policies, Texas has returned to the practice under the guise of helping unsuccessful students be able to earn a minimal diploma. But the state of Texas is responsible for ensuring that all students have equal access to a high quality education and…

School Holding Power Texas schools are losing 11 students per hour Nationally, our schools are losing one of every four students. This lack of school holding power affects every one of us. With the magnitude of this loss, what is needed is a seismic shift from dropout prevention to graduation for all. And all must mean all.…

IDRA’s Quality Schools Action Framework™ shows how we can strengthen public education for all students. The framework – or theory of change – is grounded in school reform research and practice. Developed by IDRA president and CEO Dr. María “Cuca” Robledo Montecel, it asserts that: Though often neglected, coalition-building and community capacity-building are critical change strategies in improving…