Education Equity
Working to protect the civil rights of all students in America — regardless of background or zip code
Just like electricity and telephone service before it, access to communications and technology in the 21st century has moved from being a luxury to a necessity.
The availability of these services are determined by our nation’s media, telecommunications, and technology policies — policies that must promote equity in a free, plural, and democratic society. When these policies fail, equal opportunity and democratic participation are compromised.
The Education Fund works to ensure that new technologies further civil rights protections and expand media diversity and access to broadband. Technological progress should bring greater safety, economic opportunity, and convenience to everyone. At the same time, as new technologies allow companies and government to gain greater insight into our lives, it is vitally important that technologies be designed and used in ways that respect the values of fairness and equal justice.
Latest News
The Leadership Conference Education Fund Announces Its “Center for Civil Rights and Technology,” a First of Its Kind Research and Advocacy Hub
WASHINGTON DC — Today, The Leadership Conference Education Fund launched an unprecedented initiative to create a fair, just, opportunity-rich, and rights-advancing future for all in the face of artificial intelligence with the creation of The Center for Civil Rights and Technology. The Center will serve as a convener, collaborator, and communicator on policy issues, ideas, and potential innovations that can advance, as well as protect, equity in society. Dr. Alondra Nelson — who served as deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy — will serve as a senior advisor on Civil Rights and Technology to the president and CEO, Maya Wiley.
The Leadership Conference, The Education Fund Welcome Managing Director of Communications, Media and Tech Counsel
WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and its sister organization, The Leadership Conference Education Fund, welcomed Shin Inouye as managing director of communications and Bertram Lee Jr. as media and tech counsel.
Civil Rights Groups Call for Strong Guardrails in Hiring Assessment Technologies
WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, The Leadership Conference Education Fund and more than 24 civil rights, employment, and privacy organizations today introduced principles to guide the development, use, auditing, and oversight of hiring assessment technologies. The groups urge policymakers, vendors, and employers to protect the civil rights of working people by ensuring new assessment tools that rely on algorithms and artificial intelligence do not further entrench decades of discrimination. Without guardrails in place, new assessments threaten to perpetuate unjust hiring practices based on race, ethnicity, sex, disability, age, and other factors.
All students are capable of high achievements and deserve adequate and equitable resources to help them attain that goal.
The Education Fund’s educational equity program seeks to transform American public education so that all young people can access responsive, welcoming, and resourced schools that prepare them for college and careers. We also work to ensure students have equal opportunity to higher education and aim to transform education decision-making so that diverse voices are at the table.
Our approach is rooted in our experience working with partners and policymakers at the national level, and community leaders and parents at the state and local levels. Our strategies include engaging and sustaining state and local civil rights leaders and other like-minded partners; influencing public debates through educational materials, convenings, and communications strategies; and informing legislative and executive action around federal education laws.
Educational equity is a civil and human right.
Recent Resources
Published by The Leadership Conference Education Fund in collaboration with member organizations of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Latest News
Civil Rights Leaders Detail Stakes for Diversity in Higher Education, SCOTUS Challenges to Affirmative Action
National Poll Shows Majority Believes Affirmative Action in Higher Education Is Essential, Must Be Protected by the Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — The Leadership Conference Education Fund today released the results of a national survey exploring people’s opinions on affirmative action, diversity, and opportunity in higher education. The survey, commissioned by The Education Fund and conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, found that a majority of people in America believe that diverse college and university campuses are beneficial to students, college admissions should take into account a student’s whole story, and the U.S. Supreme Court must protect affirmative action.
Take Action
Every student deserves a safe, inclusive, and resourced education that is free from discrimination. Here are a few ways to make your voice heard in the movement for education equity.
Contact Us
Learn more about our work to promote educational equity by contacting our team.
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