Inclusive Communities Project v. Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs: The briefs have been filed in this pivotal Supreme Court case challenging the long-established “disparate impact” liability standard under the Fair Housing Act. PRRAC helped to draft a coalition amicus brief focusing on the harms of segregation, the central importance of segregation in the legislative history of the Fair Housing Act, and the crucial role played by the Act since 1968 in addressing unjustified policies and practices that have a segregative effect. We have posted selected briefs in the case on our website – the full set of briefs are posted on the website of Daniel & Beshara. The case will be argued on January 21 by Dallas attorney Mike Daniel for the plaintiffs, along with an attorney in the U.S. Solicitor General’s office (amicus supporting the plaintiffs) and the Texas Attorney General’s office.
School integration grants in NY State: Last week, New York State Education Commissioner John B. King, Jr. announced a new “Socioeconomic Integration Pilot Program” with grants of up to $1.25 million each to increase student achievement in up to 25 of the state’s low-performing Priority and Focus Schools. The grants will support programs that will increase greater socio-economic integration, including development of magnet-type programs to attract students across school district lines – see the Department’s press release here. The use of federal school turnaround funds for school integration has been a high priority of the National Coalition on School Diversity (NCSD) for the past two years, and this is the first system-wide implementation of this principle.
In the January/February Poverty & Race: A summary of new research from Eva Rosen on predatory practices by Section 8 landlords, and a précis of the Perception Institute’s new report on the effects of implicit bias, stereotype threat, and racial anxiety in the classroom. Online now.
Inclusive & diverse charters? We helped to prepare comments for the NCSD on the Department of Education’s proposed priorities for future state charter schools grants.
Other news and resources
Tools for Teachers: the excellent one-hour webinar “Tools for Teachers: Strategies for Addressing Racial Dynamics in the Classroom” with Rachel Godsil and Linda Tropp is now available online (sponsored by the National Coalition on School Diversity).
