Briefing: Turning Around the Race to the Bottom: What ESEA Should Do to Improve Teacher Quality and Equity

Elected officials and education and civil rights experts discussed needed changes in federal law to ensure greater equity and quality in teachers assigned to low-income classrooms.

This briefing — co-sponsored by the Congressional Asian Pacific American, Black, and Hispanic Caucuses in the 112th Congress — featured congressional leaders and education experts from a coalition of civil rights, parent, and education groups discussing how and why teacher quality and distribution practices must be strengthened in the reauthorization of the ESEA.

Speakers detailed legislation to be introduced by lawmakers on teacher quality and policy recommendations on preparing and developing teachers to effectively teach all children, including the increasing population of English language learners. Recommendations covered a broad range of issues, from what constitutes a qualified teacher and equitable distribution of teachers to how the federal government can help strengthen preparation and supervision of teacher candidates and ensure comparable spending across schools.

Other organizations co-sponsoring the briefing included the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law, the NAACP, the National Council on Educating Black Children, and SCOPE. Speakers were:

• Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Chair, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
• Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Chair, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Education Taskforce
• Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Co-Chair, Congressional Black Caucus Education and Labor Taskforce
• Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez, Maryland House of Delegates and Board Member, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
• Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor of Education, Stanford University; Co-Director Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education
• Tanya Clay House, Public Policy Director, National Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law
• Lindsay Jones, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy Issues, Council for Exceptional Children
• Moderator: Beth Glenn, Education Director, NAACP, National Office
• Moderator: Joseph Bishop, Deputy Director of Constituency Services, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund