How does the Leandro Plan benefit students experiencing racial discrimination?

While the Leandro court case fails to explicitly address race, the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan includes several much-needed new programs and investments that will directly benefit students of color who experience racial discrimination.

American Indian, Black, and Hispanic children are more likely to live in  families with low incomes.

Despite making up only 41 percent of the child population, Black and Hispanic children account for 63 percent of North Carolina’s children living in poverty.

Despite years of efforts at the policy and advocacy level, Black, Hispanic, and Native students continue to score below their peers on standardized tests. The discrepancies in test-based outcomes are a product of both internal and external factors that have systemically denied equality of opportunity to all students within our schools.

On average, and most significantly, students affected by racial discrimination are provided fewer opportunities to succeed.

Students of color are overexposed to novice teachers and teachers with fewer qualifications. For example, Black students are 58 percent more likely than their white peers to be taught by a novice teacher.

Nor are students who experience racial discrimination adequately represented among teachers or school leaders. North Carolina’s current teacher workforce has only about 20 percent teachers of color, while more than half of the state’s students are students of color. A diverse teacher workforce benefits all students, but particularly benefits the long-term education achievement and attainment of students of color.

Students of color are also underrepresented in honors and advanced classes and overrepresented in special education. Finally, and most troubling, Native, Black, and multiracial students in North Carolina are far more likely to be suspended than their white classmates. And when they are suspended, Black students face substantially longer suspensions than their classmates.

Of course, fully addressing education inequality such that a student’s background is no longer predictive of their outcomes will require a comprehensive set of policy reforms that address factors both in and outside of schools. Every Child NC supports a comprehensive approach to equity that includes many out-of-school reforms. An education system that is compliant with our state constitution is a necessary first step on the path of achieving a more just, equitable society.

The Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan:

a schedule of polices to be adopted by the North Carolina legislature that eliminate the inequities and funding deficiencies that block children from receiving the sound, basic education guaranteed by the state constitution. 

Leandro Plan policies that help students experiencing racial discrimination

Increasing overall funding

The Leandro Plan proposes increasing per-student state spending by more than 40 percent. Studies in the past 20 years have consistently found that similar court-ordered increases in school spending improve academic outcomes and attainment, boost lifetime earnings, and improve intergenerational social mobility, particularly for students of color and students from families with low incomes.

Recruiting and retaining a high-quality, diverse teaching workforce

The Leandro Plan would implement and fund the recommendations of the DRIVE (Developing a Representative and Inclusive Vision for Education) Task Force to recruit and retain teachers of color in North Carolina schools. The DRIVE Task Force’s recommendations include establishing diversity goals, offering more affordable postsecondary access, expanding educator preparation programs at North Carolina’s Historically Minority Serving Institutions, and investing in support networks for educators of color.

Increasing funding streams that disproportionately benefit students of color

Most of the new spending in the Leandro Plan would disproportionately benefit students of color. For example, students of color are disproportionately represented in special education programs, which will receive a 67 percent increase in funding through the plan. Funding for at-risk or “disadvantaged” students will increase by 291 percent, while supplemental funding for English learners is slated to increase 225 percent.

Overhauling the discriminatory A-F school performance grade system

North Carolina assigns every school an A-F letter grade. The system is supposed to be a measure of school quality, but ultimately just measures school demographics. Seventy-seven percent of “A” schools enroll an above average share of white and Asian students. The results for so-called “failing” schools are even more lopsided, with disproportionately white/Asian schools comprising just 3 percent of “F” schools.

Expanding of community schools

Community schools partner with community agencies and local government to provide an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement. The Leandro Plan would expand the number of community schools by funding a community school coordinator position at high-poverty schools and providing technical support to districts implementing such models.

Expanding early intervention, child care, and prekindergarten classes

The Leandro Plan’s early education recommendations will help children overcome poverty-related barriers to education and ensure more students enter kindergarten ready to learn. For example, expansion of the Family Connects program will provide nurse home visits to address infant and maternal health needs and help link families to community services. Elimination of the child care subsidy wait list will also allow more parents to pursue work opportunities that provide much-needed economic stability. Finally, expanding NC Pre-K is associated with long-term academic benefits and reducing referrals to special education programs.

Prioritizing culturally-affirming curricula and teaching practices

For too long, school curricula have prioritized content that overlooks the contributions and viewpoints of people of color. The Leandro Plan will help schools select culturally-responsive curriculum resources and prepare teachers to use those resources effectively.

Providing funding to increase the number of support personnel, such as school nurses, psychologists, counselors, and social workers

Increasing the number of support personnel in schools will allow schools to better meet the social-emotional, behavioral, and physical health needs of their students. Students experiencing racial discrimination disproportionately lack access to physical and mental health services. They also tend to require more services due to greater exposure to adverse childhood experiences and exposure to health-compromising pollutants.

Establishing conditions that facilitate school integration

School integration is one of the most effective strategies for boosting student achievement and reducing educational opportunity gaps. While the Leandro Plan fails to explicitly address school integration, its recommendations would reduce barriers to local school integration efforts. When schools are adequately staffed and provide equitable access to advanced courses and enrichment opportunities, parents are more likely to support local school integration efforts.