Access to higher education expands life opportunities. Schools have a responsibility to prepare all students to succeed in college.
Policies and practices that track students away from college or limit access to advanced courses take the power away from young people and families to choose their own paths.
Learn more about IDRA’s work to ensure all students are prepared to succeed in college below.
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A college education expands learning, career and life opportunities. Despite these clear benefits, many schools are not preparing all students to graduate and access and succeed in college. Too often, students are pushed into courses and programs that do not prepare them or even prevent them from meeting college admission and financial aid requirements. Students of color, students from families with limited incomes, students from rural communities, immigrant students and others who have been disproportionately unsupported by their schools and excluded from college opportunities for generations deserve equitable educational opportunities to prepare for and succeed in college.
IDRA supports policies that expand college access and affordability for all students. We research the impacts of changes to coursework and graduation requirements and support families and coalition partners to block efforts to take away important protections for college students.
Learn more about IDRA’s policy recommendations for Texas.
Resources
Changing Policy
TLEEC Supports Texas College Students’ Access to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Services – TLEEC Testimony on Implementation of SB 17, submitted by Rebekah Skelton to the Texas Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education, May 14, 2024
Prohibiting College DEI Programs Would Particularly Impact Marginalized K-12 Students – IDRA Testimony Against SB 17, submitted by Steve Kemgang to the Texas House Higher Education Committee, May 8, 2023
Prohibiting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Offices on College Campuses in Texas Hurts Students’ Academic and Enrichment Opportunities – TLEEC Testimony against SB 17, Submitted to the Texas House Committee on Higher Education, May 8, 2023
Keep Academic Rigor for College Preparation by Rejecting HB 2615 – Joint testimony against HB 2615 submitted to the Texas House Public Education Committee, April 20, 2023
HB 2615 Would Disproportionally Target Marginalized Students to Pursue Vocational Education Pathways – IDRA Testimony against House Bill 2615, submitted by Steve Kemgang to the Texas House Public Education Committee, April 20, 2023 – See video
Prohibiting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policies on College Campuses in Texas Hurts Students’ Academic and Enrichment Opportunities – TLEEC Testimony against SB 17, Submitted to the Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education, April 6, 2023
SB 2539 Establishes a Pathway to Increase Disadvantaged Students’ Dual Credit Enrolment and Expand their Access to Opportunities in Higher Education – IDRA Testimony for Senate Bill 2539, submitted by Steve Kemgang to the Texas Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education, March 23, 2023
Restricting Intellectual Freedom in Texas Higher Education Hurts Quality Research, Scholarship and Learning – TLEEC Testimony against SB 16, submitted to the Texas Senate Subcommittee on Higher Education, March 23, 2023
Amicus brief for a case currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court: Young Conservatives of Texas Foundation v. Neal Smatresk, President of the University of North Texas; Shannon Goodman, Vice President for Enrollment of the University of North Texas (No. 22-40225), August 1, 2022
Amicus brief for a case currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court: Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (No. 19-2005) and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina, et al. (No. 21-2263), August 1, 2022
Equity Should Be Upheld in Top Ten Percent Plan – IDRA Testimony again SB 1091, Presented by Dr. Altheria Caldera to the Senate Higher Education Committee, April 28, 2021
SB 1277 Supports College Access with Student Advising for Dual Credit – IDRA Comments on SB 1277 and Submitted by Dr. Altheria Caldera before the Texas House Higher Education Committee, April 20, 2021
HB 4403 Supports Student Advising for Dual Credit – IDRA Comments on HB 4403 and Submitted by Dr. Altheria Caldera before the House Higher Education Committee, April 15, 2021
Individual Graduation Committees Should be Available to All High School Students – IDRA Testimony for House Bill 999: Relating to the use of individual graduation committees, submitted by Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D., to House Public Education Committee, March 23, 2021
Individual Graduation Committees Should be a Permanent Option for High School Students, IDRA Testimony for House Bill 1603 submitted by Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D., to House Public Education Committee, March 16, 2021
Civil Rights Groups Urge California Voters to Reinstate Affirmative Action in Higher Ed
Protecting the Texas Top Ten Percent Plan
Acting on Research and Data
Report: College Bound and Determined Study of Pharr-San Juan Alamo School District
Infographic and Report: Ready Texas Study of Texas College Requirements
Engaging Communities
Report: Community Survey on Texas Graduation Requirements
What Families Need to Know About Texas Graduation Requirements
IDRA Amicus Brief: Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin
Communicating Effectively
Infographic: Understanding Texas’s DEI Ban at Public Universities
Op-ed: Protect College Admission laws that reward merit, hard work
