Public Affairs Conference - A Return on Student Equity in Education

Live Zoom webinar panel session (see conference website for Zoom link)

Equality in education involves providing all students with the same resources, whereas equity involves distributing resources based on individual needs. When society becomes deeply divided, schools inherently face those same divides within their walls. A Department of Education study reports that 45% of impoverished schools continue to receive less state and local funding than others within the same district, in spite of efforts to reduce achievement gaps through equity policies. The ongoing public health and economic crisis related to COVID-19 has made achieving educational equity even more challenging. How can local communities ensure their school districts are being allocated funds and resources in an equitable way? Are local resources enough to meet and sustain schools’ efforts to meet the physical, emotional and social needs of America’s children? What steps can be taken to build a student-centered relationship between a community and its local and higher education institutions to improve student equity?