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Promoting Diversity and Reducing Racial Isolation in Ohio

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Promoting Diversity and Reducing Racial Isolation in Ohio Poverty & Race PRRAC POVERTY & RACE RESEARCH ACTION COUNCIL July/August 2012 Volume 21: Number 4 Promoting Diversity and Reducing Racial Isolation in Ohio by Stephen Menendian Last May, the State Board of Edu- sweeping guide for school districts found them constitutionally infirm in cation of Ohio adopted a new, for- designed both to promote diversity and Parents Involved in Community ward-looking Diversity Policy that reduce racial isolation throughout Schools v. Seattle School District No. will improve student performance and Ohio. The Policy emphatically reaf- 1. For that reason, even though the potentially affect the lives of every firmed the state goal of promoting di- policy did not clearly violate the Par- child in the state. Over the last three versity and alleviating racial isolation ents Involved ruling, the State Board years, staff from the Kirwan Institute in Ohio schools. This impressive of Education of Ohio suspended the for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Policy touched on virtually every rel- 1980 Policy following the Supreme Ohio State worked very closely with evant educational issue, from curricu- Court’s decisions in those cases, pend- the Board and Ohio Department of lum and instruction to test-taking and ing the development of a new Policy. Education (ODE) staff to develop this transportation. The State Board of Education asked Policy. In this article, I will share the The core element of the Policy was the then-Executive Director of the positive results and key elements of the a monitoring mechanism designed to Kirwan Institute, Prof. john powell, new Policy, but more importantly, I ensure that no school population var- to present to the Board on the Parents will discuss the process of developing ied more than 15% from the demo- Involved decision, and to highlight na- this Policy in order to offer valuable graphics of the respective school dis- tional best practices on student assign- lessons for advocates and researchers trict as a whole. These data were col- ment policies and diversity initiatives. in other states, particularly for those lected into reams of 1980s-style dot Under the leadership of Prof. powell, struggling to create effective and pro- matrix continuous feed printer spread- we had already advised a number of gressive policies in fiscally and politi- sheets. ODE staff reviewed these other districts across the country, in- cally challenging environments. spreadsheets for compliance with the cluding Jefferson County, on how to demographic variation standard, re- revise their policies in light of the Su- Background gardless of whether the variation was preme Court’s decisions while main- a result of intentional de jure segrega- taining hard-won gains with technical In 1980, the State Board of Educa- tion or simply a result of de facto pat- support. The Board asked ODE staff tion of Ohio adopted a broad and terns of residential segregation. How- to work with the Kirwan Institute to ever, districts that were suspected of (Please turn to page 2) Stephen Menendian (steve. having this variation result from de jure [email protected]) is the Assis- segregation were immediately re- tant Director/Policy Director of the quested to appear before the Superin- Haas Diversity Research Center at UC tendent of Public Instruction to ex- CONTENTS: plain the situation. Berkeley and a Board member of the School Diversity ..... 1 American Values Institute. Previously, The astute reader will recognize he was the Senior Legal Associate at that this demographic percentage band Race Reporting ...... 3 the Kirwan Institute for the Study of is essentially the same numeric band Reader Comment/ Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State that both the districts in Seattle, Wash- Response ............. 9 University, where he carried out work ington and Jefferson County, Kentucky Resources............. 10 for the new Policy described here. employed before the Supreme Court Poverty & Race Research Action Council • 1200 18th Street NW • Suite 200 • Washington, DC 20036 202/906-8023 • FAX: 202/842-2885 • E-mail: [email protected] • www.prrac.org Recycled Paper (OHIO: Cont. from page 1) Policy also emphasizes the importance cational deficiencies. More critically, of diversity and explains the relation- the greatest degree of racial isolation create a process for developing a new ships between diversity, racial isola- is inter-district rather than intra-dis- statewide Diversity Policy. tion and student performance. In ad- trict. The 1980 Policy spoke almost Over the next three years, we dition, the Diversity Strategies Project exclusively to the latter. Given the fact worked very closely with various ODE envisioned a more active role for ODE that the new Policy is directed at school staff to develop a set of recommenda- in not only facilitating the guidance, districts and other non-public schools tions that would inform the develop- but in helping to disseminate and share for whom the State Board prescribes ment of a new policy. Once the rec- proven practices and improve aware- minimum standards under state law, ommendations were accepted by the ness of what works. this Policy is only marginally better at Board last September, we were asked Most importantly, however, the addressing this problem. to help ODE draft a Policy under the Policy provides guidance to school Given this overarching reality, it direction of the Board’s various sub- districts. The guidance comes in the should not be surprising that the re- committees. On May 15 of this year, form of principles announced by the curring refrain from local administra- the full Board unanimously adopted the State Board; identification and elabo- tors were the demographic limitations new Policy. ration of activities furthering those of promoting diversity within their principles; encouragement to pursue districts. Rural and suburban districts specific activities consistent with those expressed concern that they did not The Diversity Strategies principles; specific requirements to have sufficient numerical diversity to Policy take actions consistent with those prin- meaningfully address the issue. Stake- holders with institutional memory re- The new Diversity Strategies Policy The only solution to called that attempts to integrate were is far more than top-down oversight inter-district segregation met with white flight on the one hand, of districts. Rather, the Policy seri- is regional. and charter schools, private schools and ously attempts to create an infrastruc- school vouchers on the other. Attempts ture for best practices to be lifted up to diversify school buildings often had and shared, and to empower districts ciples; and specific reporting require- to overcome community opposition, with the tools and resources to pro- ments to the Superintendent of Public parental biases and perceptions, and mote diversity and reduce racial isola- Instruction. even personal threats. tion. The Policy does this in several The guidance itself includes twelve The only solution to inter-district ways. It sets out the demographic chal- elements directed at school districts. segregation is regional. In an attempt lenges in the state and the myriad forms The elements of guidance range from to deal with a deeply entrenched struc- of diversity throughout the state. One encouraging student assignment poli- tural limitation, the Policy encourages such challenge is the growing income cies that promote diversity to staff re- districts to participate in regional mag- segregation across neighborhoods that cruitment to curriculum and disci- net programs and support and fund reduces the number of mixed-income pline. The Policy also encourages dis- inter-district transfers. Ohio has en- environments and promotes the clus- tricts to reduce concentrated poverty joyed great success with both arts and tering of poor and wealthy families, within school buildings by, for ex- STEM-focused magnets, especially with stark educational outcomes. The ample, capping enrollment for students regional magnets. These magnets, receiving free or reduced lunch per which use lottery or talent screening building. The guidance requires dis- for admissions, award seats propor- Poverty and Race (ISSN 1075-3591) tricts to report to the Superintendent tionally to participant districts. is published six times a year by the Pov- of Public Instruction on various mat- The most important successes of the erty & Race Research Action Council, ters, such as the diversity impact of Policy, however, are less direct, but 1200 18th Street NW, Suite 200, Wash- ington, DC 20036, 202/906-8023, fax: potential new school sites. The guid- perhaps more influential than a more 202/842-2885, E-mail: [email protected]. ance is applicable both to public and traditional heavy-handed top-down Chester Hartman, Editor. Subscriptions non-public schools, including charter Policy. First, the Policy directs each are $25/year, $45/two years. Foreign schools. district to develop a statement on di- postage extra. Articles, article sugges- The focus on school districts means versity. While the State Board reaf- tions, letters and general comments are welcome, as are notices of publications, that larger, structural inter-district as- firms its commitment to promoting conferences, job openings, etc. for our pects of school diversity were not spe- diversity and reducing racial isolation Resources Section. Articles generally cifically addressed. Ohio’s system of through this Policy, having each dis- may be reprinted, providing PRRAC school funding has been held uncon- trict adopt its own such statement will gives advance permission. stitutional on multiple occasions by the provide the critical foundation for all © Copyright 2012 by the Poverty & Race Research Action Council. All state’s Supreme Court. However, the other local policies. It will bring di- rights reserved. Ohio Assembly has never seriously rectly into the conversation at the level tackled all aspects of the state’s edu- (Please turn to page 6) 2 • Poverty & Race • Vol. 21, No. 4 • July/August 2012 Reporting Race in the 21st Century by Craig Flournoy Overview part series superbly chronicling the Numbers tell only part of the story.
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