U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Announces Date for Briefing Related to its Report, Public Education Funding Inequality in an Era of Increasing Concentration of Poverty and Resegregation

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights announced today that it will hold a public briefing on Friday, May 20, 2016, to examine the funding of K-12 education and how the inequitable distribution of these funds negatively and disproportionately impact the educational opportunities of low-income and minority students.  The briefing will also address how the practice of underfunding public schools has exacerbated the academic achievement gap in an era where the nation's most vulnerable children are increasingly educated in highly segregated and under-resourced schools.

The Commission's public briefing and report titled "Public Education Funding Inequality in an Era of Increasing Concentration of Poverty and Resegregation" will address federal and state law related to public education funding, including Title I of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The report will also offer recommendations on how federal, state, and local government can independently and collaboratively help ensure that all children in the United States have an equal opportunity to quality education regardless of race, national origin, and zip code.

Commission Chairman Martin R. Castro stated, "Education is the great equalizer in the United States. When we make access to education for our minority children more difficult and less equal and when the education they received is of less quality, whether de jure or de facto--it is unjust and must be changed.  When we diminish educational opportunities for the least among us we diminish ourselves as a nation."

Commissioner Karen K. Narasaki stated, "Despite Brown v. Board of Education, schools attended by minority children are still more likely to be racially isolated and lacking in sufficient resources with high concentrations of poverty. All students should have meaningful access to a quality education."

WHAT: 
Briefing on Public Educational Funding Inequality in an Era of Increasing Concentration of Poverty and Resegregation.

WHEN:                     
May 20, 2016, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST
Please arrive early as seating is limited or participate via teleconference.

WHERE:
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 1150
Washington, DC 20425 (Entrance on F Street NW)

LISTEN IN:
To listen to the Commission's Briefing via telephone, please follow the instructions below:

Dial toll-free number 1-888-572-7034; Provide operator conference # 7822144.

DOCUMENTS:
The Commission is going green! Electronic versions of the briefing documents will be made available online the day before the briefing.

Deaf or hearing-impaired persons who require the services of a sign language interpreter should contact Pam Dunston at (202) 376-8105.

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Contact: Gerson Gomez
Media Advisor
(202) 376-8371
[email protected]

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SOURCE U.S. Commission on Civil Rights