by Dan Perkins

Source: NAACP Release - 022305

The Education Department of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has asked all 50 states to submit Educational Equity Partnership Plans outlining their efforts to reduce education-related racial disparities.  The NAACP is aiming for a 50 percent reduction in disparities over the next five years (2005-2009).  Each state is asked to submit its plan by June 24, 2005.

Dr. John Jackson, NAACP National Director of Education, said, “The NAACP Call for Action initiative is an effort to partner with states to reduce the racial disparities in education and assist states in meeting the benchmark in the federal No Child Left Behind Act.  The federal government has to play more of an active role assisting states in resources and policy to address these disparities.  However, until the federal government decides to do what is right, the NAACP has a moral obligation to fight to ensure that all students have access to a high quality education.”

Education is a key area of concern for the NAACP, which is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization.

Over the past three years, the Call for Action initiative has gained momentum.  Since 2001, forty-eight states have agreed to participate in the process of addressing racial disparities within their educational systems.  The NAACP reports that only two states, Nevada and Colorado, chose not to respond to the request to work as partners in finding solutions to their educational disparities.

The picture is much brighter, however, among states that have agreed to partner with the civil rights organization.  NAACP state and local education chairs have participated annually in training sessions designed to help states address disparities.  Participating organizations include: the Education Trust, National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the Harvard Civil Rights Project.

To assist the states in reaching their goals, the NAACP formed the Brown v. Board Equity Commission comprised of representatives from over 50 national non-profit organizations and 12 state departments of education.  The Brown Commission agreed to use the Call for Action initiative to focus attention on disparities in three critical areas: resource equity, testing, and teacher quality.

Each state will use the web-based NAACP Educational Equity Partnership Plan Database to address problem areas targeted in the Call for Action plan.  Quantifiable indicators and milestones will be used to gauge efforts aimed at reducing the disparities.

NAACP State Conference Presidents and Education Chairs also plan to schedule meetings with their governors to discuss the development, submission, and implementation of their state’s plan over the next five years.

The End