Resource Center

• By Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D. • IDRA Newsletter • May 2026 •

Drawing on a two-year community-based research study, IDRA developed free college access toolkits that help counselors, students and families navigate college readiness, applications and transitions to higher education.

College-bound high school students in Texas face new state and federal policy changes in college admissions, academic programs and campus life. New restrictions on race-conscious admissions and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have altered college life for thousands of students.

IDRA conducted a two-year study on the impact of these changes on college access opportunities for Texas high school students.

IDRA held roundtables and focus groups with 92 participants, including high school students, college students, K-12 educators and counselors, parents and higher education professionals.

The study posed two research questions: (1) How have recent changes to college diversity policies (i.e., Texas Senate Bill 17 and the U.S. Supreme Court rulings in the Harvard and UNC cases in 2023) impacted the college access pipeline for Texas high school students from marginalized backgrounds? and (2) How are programs that support marginalized Texas students’ college readiness, access and success affected by the changes to these policies?

IDRA used the findings to develop college access toolkits for counselors and families to help students to access college. The findings will be published in a forthcoming report.

Changes in college diversity policies have had an immediate impact on the college access opportunities for historically-marginalized high school students.

To center the communities affected by the policy changes, IDRA employed a community-based research design (Strand et al., 2003). In this way, community members are active participants in identifying research problems and can develop solutions for their local communities.

Research has consistently demonstrated that college access is shaped by early exposure to academic preparation, college planning, and advising that begins as early as middle school and continues through high school and into college (Feygin et al., 2022; Giani et al., 2023).

For decades, college offices and initiatives on diversity, equity and inclusion offered targeted support to prospective and enrolled students, faculty and staff to address academic inequities and help orient historically marginalized students to college life (Harper et al., 2024; Latham Sikes & Chowdhury, 2026).

This type of targeted support is especially critical for students – including first-generation college-bound students, students with historically marginalized racial backgrounds, and students from low-income households – who may lack access to other college knowledge networks (Carter et al., 2013). For these students, schools often serve as pivotal sites for information about college pathways.

New Resources to Assist High Schools

Study participants overwhelmingly expressed that the policy changes compromised their sense of belonging on Texas college campuses, diminished their access to services for academic, social and health support, and exacerbated challenges to college information and affordability.

IDRA worked with study participants and other stakeholders to develop three community-based toolkits that address major barriers to accessing college information and opportunities. Each toolkit contains easy-to-use, downloadable resources that are available in both English and Spanish. The resources focus on building student-to-student networks, encouraging student leadership to transition to college, and developing parent knowledge-sharing networks about college.

Examples of the resources include: a guide for a counselor to start a college ambassador program to connect college students who are recent alumni to high school students to expand counselors’ capacity; a student self-advocacy starter pack of prompts to help students identify their strengths as they work on college applications and speak to college admissions officers; and a parent engagement guide with tips for creating a parent or guardian ambassador networks.

This enables families who have navigated the college process already to connect with other families who are new to the process. IDRA launched the toolkits during a webinar that featured three panelists – a high school senior, a college professor, and a high school college counselor – who had reviewed and used the toolkits in their schools.

High school counselors, educators, students and families can use the free Community-Based College Access – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit to gain and share information about college readiness, the application process, and resources for preparing to successfully transition to college.

IDRA Community-Based College Access – Online Technical Assistance Toolkit

Informed by focus groups and roundtable conversations with students, families and school counselors, our new bilingual toolkits provide practical tools schools can use now to help students transition to college.

Watch the launch webinar “Building Support for Student Access to College”

Conclusion

Changes in college diversity policies have had an immediate impact on the college access opportunities for historically-marginalized high school students. The impact on Texas high school students threatens years-long efforts to bolster college-going rates and opportunities for students who are Black, Latino, first-generation and from households with low incomes.

Importantly, IDRA’s study offers an example of how to conduct community-based research on policy impacts by prioritizing students, who are the most impacted by these policy changes.

Resources

Carter, D.F., Locks, A.M., & Winkle-Wagner, R. (2013). From When and Where I Enter: Theoretical and Empirical Considerations of Minority Students’ Transition to College. In M.B. Paulsen, (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, Vol. 28 (pp. 93-149). Springer.

Feygin, A., Miller, T., & Bettinger, E. (December 2022). Advising for College Success: Next Steps for Policymakers, Practitioners, and Researchers. Institute of Education Sciences and College Completion Network.

Giani, M., Woods, S., Gueguen, L., & Torres, J. (2023). From Transactional to Transformational: Unpacking and Strengthening the Multiple Dimensions of Advising Capacity. Educate Texas.

Harper, S., Chang, M.J., Cole, E.R., Davis, L.P., Garces, L.M., Gayles, J.G., Jenkins, T.S., Kimbrough, W.M., Park, J.J., Saenz, V.B., Smith, S.M., & Wolf-Wendel, L. (2024). Truths About DEI on College Campuses: Evidence-Based Expert Responses to Politicized Misinformation. USC Race and Equity Center.

Latham Sikes, C., & Chowdhury, A. (2026). Beyond the Bans: How Legal and Policy Changes Limiting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Practices Compromise Student Opportunity – IDRA Research Brief. IDRA.

Strand, K., Marullo, S., Cutforth, N., Stoecker, R., & Donohue, P. (2003). Principles of Best Practice for Community-Based Research. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 9(3), p. 5-15.

Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D., is IDRA’s deputy director of policy (chloe.sikes@idra.org).

FAQs

What is the Community-Based College Access Toolkit?

The Community-Based College Access Toolkit is a free collection of resources developed by IDRA to help students, families, counselors and educators strengthen college readiness and support successful transitions to college.

Who can use the college access toolkits?

The toolkits are designed for high school counselors, educators, students and families seeking practical resources for college planning, applications and transitions to higher education.

What resources are included in the toolkits?

Resources include guides for college ambassador programs, student self-advocacy tools and parent engagement materials that help families share college knowledge and support students through the college-going process.

Are the toolkits available in Spanish?

Yes. The toolkit resources are available in both English and Spanish.

How were the toolkits developed?

The toolkits were informed by a two-year community-based research study involving students, educators, counselors, families and higher education professionals across Texas.

Why are college access resources important?

Students often rely on schools, counselors, families and peer networks for information about college pathways. Accessible resources can help students navigate admissions, financial considerations and the transition to college.

[© 2026, IDRA. This article originally appeared in the May edition of the IDRA Newsletter. Permission to reproduce this article is granted provided the article is reprinted in its entirety and proper credit is given to IDRA and the author.]