Obama Administration Launches Newest ‘Teacher Equity’ Plan

[Geee]

Heritage Foundation:

In July, the Obama administration announced a renewed effort to ensure high-quality teachers are equitably distributed among schools. The administration asked states to create and publish plans that detail how they will ensure disadvantaged children have access to effective teachers.

 

Specifically, the administration is encouraging states to revisit No Child Left Behind’s Title I requirement that states establish effective teacher access plans. Although Title I of NCLB already requires states have such plans, the new effort will incorporate data from the Office of Civil Rights to flag “states where effective teachers aren’t reaching at-risk students,” Politico reports. The department announced it will spend more than $4 million to help states implement their plans and will publish profiles of all states that show the schools and districts that retain effective teachers. As Education Week reported:

 

“To help states move forward, the Obama administration plans to develop a $4.2 million new “technical assistance” network—called the Educator Equity Support Network—to help states develop their plans and put them in place. The network will come up with model plans to guide states’ work, and give educators a space to swap information about how they have approached the teacher-equity problem…The administration is also planning to publish “Educator Equity” profiles in the fall, to help states get a sense of where their gaps are when it comes to equitable distribution of teachers. The profiles could include information comparing teacher experience levels, attendance rates, and qualifications at high and low poverty schools.