The promise of quality education is our nation’s promise not to the privileged few but to all our children.
Federal education policies impact funding for schools that serve marginalized students, enforcement of critical civil rights protections, and important data collection requirements. Federal agency and court decisions impact how schools across the country serve students. IDRA works to ensure these laws, rules and court decisions are equitable and expand educational opportunities for all students.
Learn more about IDRA’s work to build safe and welcoming schools for all students below.
While state laws and education agency rules influence much of how schools function, federal policies and court decisions also play a critical role in how students are served in elementary, secondary and postsecondary schools.
Federal laws, like the Every Student Succeeds Act, the CARES Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, provide funding, protections and programmatic support to schools with historically underserved students, including students of color, students from families with limited incomes, immigrant students, English learners and students with disabilities.
Federal agency rules and guidance provide instructions for schools about how departments interpret and enforce federal law, including important civil rights protections for students. And decisions made by federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, influence how schools, districts, municipalities, states and many others comply with laws.
IDRA’s national policy work brings research, data, and student and family experience to federal bodies to ensure equitable policymaking at every level.
IDRA and 20 other Texas education and policy organizations submitted joint comments to the U.S. Department in support of proposed rules that would make the federal Charter School Program grants more transparent and accountable to taxpayers. If adopted, charter schools that apply for the federal start-up funds would be required to document the impact on the affected school districts and students who choose to attend their local public schools. April 13, 2022
Serving All Students: Promoting a Healthier, More Supportive School Environment, Hearing by the U.S. House Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee, February 16, 2022
Serving All Students – Promoting a Healthier, More Supportive School Environment, Written Testimony by Morgan Craven, J.D., IDRA National Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement
Support Legislation to Advance Safe, Healthy, and Inclusive School Climates, joint letter with the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and 230 other organizations. The five bills we’re urging lawmakers to support are the Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act (S 2125/HR 4011); the Keeping All Students Safe Act (S 1858/HR 3474); the Protecting our Students in Schools Act (S 2029/HR 3836); the Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2021 (S 2410/HR 4402); and the Ending Pushout Act of 2021 (HR 2248). January 19, 2022
Joint letter by the National Coalition on School Diversity, IDRA and over 50 organizations and numerous individuals supporting the Strength in Diversity Act (HR 729), January 11, 2022
Joint letter by the National Coalition on School Diversity, IDRA and over 50 organizations and numerous individuals encouraging Congress to retain the Fostering Diverse Schools Program in the FY 2022 budget, January 11, 2022
IDRA partners with the Teach the Truth coalition, which believes that students across the state of Texas deserve an accurate, honest and quality education that allows them to see themselves represented, to access truthful information and to learn from our past in order to build a better future for themselves and our country.
Teaching Truth Webinar Series: Protecting and Advancing Culturally Responsive Curricula in Our Schools – coming soon