In preparation for the up-and-coming forum, "Achievable and Affordable: Providing Comprehensive Educational Opportunity to Low-Income Students," the Campaign for Educational Equity Releases the five white papers that will be discussed at the Oct. 11th event.

The five white papers include:

Paper #1: A Legal Framework by Michael A. Rebell 
Paper #2: How Much Does it Cost? by Richard Rothstein, Tamara Wilder, and Whi... 
Paper #3: How Much Does New York City Now Spend on Children's Services? by Cl... 
Paper #4: What Are the Social and Economic Returns? by Clive Belfield, Fiona ... 
Paper #5: A Proposal for Essential Standards and Resources by Michael A. Rebe...

For the past two years, the Campaign has been working with a task force of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to address the notion that closing the achievement gap requires a concept of equity in education that focuses both on the opportunities provided in formal school settings and on providing full range of educationally relevant “out of school” services that students need to overcome the impediments to learning that poverty imposes. To succeed in school, in addition to effective teachers, contemporary curricula, and quality facilities and materials, low-income students also need access to preschool, after-school and summer programming, health care, and family support services.

These five white papers contain legal and policy research, cost analysis, and policy development to provide the resources and effective services children, particularly children from poverty, need in school to obtain a sound basic education. These reports also call for additional coordinated out of school services and supports that children from backgrounds of poverty need in order to succeed in school and constancy in the provision of these resources and services.

The goal of the task force on comprehensive educational opportunity is to establish a state-level right to meaningful educational opportunity, defined comprehensively, and to develop and implement a policy of meaningful educational opportunity for New York State. 

The next phase of the task force will focus on implementation issues and model legislation. 

Read more about the October 11, 2011 event, "Achievable and Affordable: Providing Comprehensive Educational Opportunity to Low-Income Students."