News

This section includes press releases and statements about education and racial justice issues.

The Price of Retreat: Paying More for a Divided and Less Well-Educated Community in Wake County, North Carolina

After four months of debate, a newly configured school board voted on March 23, 2010 to end Wake County’s long-standing commitment to promoting racially and socioeconomically diverse schools. This statement, by various signatories working in civil rights research including the Civil Rights Project co-directors, is a brief glimpse into the past—or a look at school systems around the South no longer working towards the goal of integration— and suggests that serious, negative consequences await North Carolina’s largest district.

Report Examines Graduation Rates Among American Indian and Alaska Native Students in Twelve States

On average, less than 50% of American Indian and Alaska Native students from the Pacific and Northwestern regions of the United States graduate high school, according to a new study released. Findings indicate that the number of American Indians and Alaska Natives who graduate continues to be a matter of urgent concern.

Report Explains that Charter Schools' Political Success is a Civil Rights Failure

The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA issued "Choice Without Equity: Charter School Segregation and the Need for Civil Rights Standards," a nationwide report based on an analysis of Federal government data and an examination of charter schools in 40 states and the District of Columbia, along with several dozen metropolitan areas with large enrollments of charters.

Major Bi-national Conference to Address Education Crisis Across the U.S.-Mexico Border

"The Students We Share," a bi-national conference relating to the educational needs of immigrant students, will be held January 15-16 In Mexico City.

Government’s Largest Program for Subsidized Housing Ignores Civil Rights Standards says New Report by UCLA Civil Rights Project

In a report, "The Opportunity Illusion: Subsidized Housing and Failing Schools in California," CRP Researcher Deirdre Pfeiffer explores the link between housing segregation and inferior educational outcomes.

Report Challenges Charter School Civil Rights Policy

"Equity Overlooked: Charter Schools and Civil Rights Policy," by Erica Frankenberg and Genevieve Siegel-Hawley examines the civil rights implications of the Obama administration's pro-charter school policies.

UC Report Says Districts Struggling to Maintain Diversity Plans Should Look to Berkeley Public Schools for Ideas

The Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity at UC Berkeley and the Civil Rights Project's joint report, "Integration Defended: Berkeley unified's Strategy to Maintain School Diversity," describes how the school district's successful integration efforts have created diverse schools and survived legal challenges.

Study by UCLA’s Civil Rights Project: NCLB Ignores What We Know about School Change and Is Motivated by Politics

In "Why High Stakes Accountability Sounds Good but Doesn’t Work — And Why We Keep on Doing It Anyway," Researchers Gail Sunderman and Heinrich Mintrop address the failure of NCLB to meaningfully address the problems facing the nations schools.

School Resegregation and Civil Rights Challenges for the Obama Administration: Report from the Civil Rights Project at UCLA

"Reviving the Goal of an Integrated Society: A 21st Century Challenge" calls on the Obama administration and Congress to review the evidence, to support integrated schools, and to avoid the resegregation of suburban schools.

Book Provides New Studies on Race Relations in the U.S.

Twenty-First Century Color Lines: Multiracial Change in Contemporary America collects work form the "Color Lines Conference" and offers insight inot the complex racial setting of contemporary America.

Book Looks at the Social and Educational Landscape for Latinos in the US

The Latino Education Crisis: The Consequences of Failed Social Policies, by CRP Co-Director Professor Patricia Gándara and Frances Contreras, takes a comprehensive look at the social and educational landscape for Latinos in the US.

New Book Provides Examination And Evaluation Of The No Child Left Behind Act

Holding NCLB Accountable: Achieving Accountability, Equity, and School Reform, edited by Gail L. Sunderman, explores flaws in the performance-based system and discuss options for improving the law.