On Eve of Brown v Board’s 65th Anniversary, Committee Advances Two Bills to Promote School Diversity, Protect Students’ Civil Rights
WASHINGTON – Today, the Committee on Education and Labor approved two bills to promote school diversity and protect students’ civil rights: Strength in Diversity Act of 2019 (H.R. 2639) and Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act (H.R. 2574).
“The legacy of systemic inequality and racial segregation continues to deny millions of children the opportunity to reach their full potential. Instead of confronting this injustice, the federal government has continually retreated from its role in promoting school diversity, erasing decades of progress towards educational equity,”said Chairman Bobby Scott at today’s markup. “These two bills will help reverse that trend. Sixty-five years after the landmark decision in Brown v Board, we must commit to finally delivering on its promise.”
The Strength in Diversity Act of 2019 would provide resources to help local communities develop, implement, and evaluate strategies to address the effects of racial isolation or concentrated poverty by increasing racial and socioeconomic diversity in public schools.
The Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act would restore an individual’s right to challenge discriminatory public school policies, rather than waiting for the Department of Education to take action. This bill empowers students, parents, and communities to address – through robust enforcement – racial inequities in public education.
The Strength in Diversity Act of 2019 (H.R. 2639) and Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act (H.R. 2574) was approved out of Committee on a party line vote (26-20).
To read the fact sheets on Strength in Diversity Act of 2019 (H.R. 2639) and Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act (H.R. 2574), click here and here.
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