New guidance around teacher-quality equity

The Obama administration is directing all states to ensure that students have equal access to high-quality teachers, with a sharp focus on schools with high proportions of the poor and racial minorities, reports Motoko Rich in The New York Times. In a letter, state superintendents were told they must have plans by next June to comply with existing federal law requiring "poor and minority children are not taught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, unqualified, or out-of-field teachers." The Education Department will send each state data collected by the department's Office for Civil Rights showing rates of teacher experience, certification, absenteeism, and salary by school, as well as student access to taxpayer-funded preschool and advanced courses in math and science. The administration is also urging states to look at teacher evaluations to determine whether those who receive lower ratings are disproportionately assigned to schools with high numbers of racial minorities and students in poverty. Still, states must only ensure that teachers are equitably distributed based on experience and credentials, and education advocates say this could limit improvements in the quality of instruction. In a rare show of agreement with the Obama administration, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, welcomed the measure. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.