Major Civil Rights Organizations Scoring Education Votes for Vulnerable Children

Media 07.15.15

WASHINGTON—Civil rights groups that advocate for Black, Latino, and Asian American students, students with disabilities, English learners, and girls will score votes on a critical amendment to the Senate reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that would make sure that states and districts cannot simply ignore the massive achievement and opportunity gaps for vulnerable students.

“The current Senate education bill throws students of color, students with disabilities, and young women under the bus,” said Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “Senators who vote against the civil and human rights of these students will be undoing the 50 years of progress we’ve made since this law first passed. This bill caters to the conveniences of adults, not the needs of students. Without this fix, it will thrust us back to a time when schools and districts were free to ignore vulnerable students.” 

Thirty-eight education and civil rights organizations have endorsed the Murphy-Booker-Warren-Coons-Durbin Accountability Amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act, which is vital to the civil rights community. The following organizations that compile annual legislative scorecards will be scoring Senate vote on the amendment:

  • The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. It was founded in 1950 and has coordinated national lobbying efforts on behalf of every major civil rights law since 1957.
  • The National Urban League, a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. The National Urban League has 95 affiliates serving 300 communities in 35 states and the District of Columbia, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people nationwide.
  • The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, an association of 39 of the leading national and regional Hispanic civil rights and public policy organizations, other elected officials, and prominent Hispanic Americans. NHLA coalition members represent the diversity of the Latino community—Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Hispanic Americans.
  • The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Action Fund, the nation’s leading voice promoting equity and education for women and girls. Since 1881, AAUW’s 170,000 members, 1,000 branches, and 800 university partners have taken  positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic, and political. 
  • Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), a national organization that advances the interests of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans by empowering communities through advocacy, leadership development, and capacity building to create a socially just and equitable society.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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