Dive Brief:
- Some Los Angeles parents were surprised to discover there could be lost funding and teaching staff cuts at some schools after they gained in white enrollment, but some believe that is due to how parents are identifying their ethnicities to the school, according to the Associated Press.
- Some argue that some parents are wary to accurately report their child’s heritage because they are concerned the students would be considered ELLs and be subjected to tests. Their answers, therefore, inaccurately portray the diversity of the schools, and they are being encouraged to answer honestly.
- Lisa Garcia Bedolla, a professor at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education, said that parents will often sign papers regarding their student’s education with their child’s best interest in mind, but are not always informed about how that data is to be used.
Dive Insight:
School districts should encourage integration in diversity in schools, as research indicates it provides strong educational outcomes for all students. However, districts must also be wary to view demographic shifts in context, realizing that the changes in data may not be accurately reflecting the school's population.
In addition to parents unintentionally misrepresenting the demographic makeup of a school, a school’s demographics can skew the conversation about funding in other ways. School districts in impoverished neighborhoods may often serve a substantial non-white student population, and schools in low-income areas are often chronically underfunded due to the lack of revenue from a comparatively lower tax base. The issues facing these schools can be cyclical, as a lack of resources breeds poor performance, which can lead to a further lack of material support. Schools that have been chronically underfunded in the past cannot change overnight, and districts should be cautious about penalizing such schools.
Ultimately, however, basing funding decisions on the race of students in a school is discriminatory and could be an invitation for lawsuits against the district. Instead, focus should be placed on working towards a more equitable funding model for all schools in a district, as well as an intentional effort made to place more desirable programs in schools and neighborhoods which have traditionally served students of color and low-income students to help promote full integration.