Race

Education news, analysis, and opinion about how race and racism affect schools and how they are taught about in schools

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Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights for the Department of Education nominee Kimberly Richey testifies before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee about her nomination in Washington, D.C., on June 5, 2025.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberley Richey testifies before the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee at her nomination hearing in Washington on June 5, 2025. A new letter to educators from Richey instructs schools not to consider race at all in school discipline policies, following the Trump administration's rescission of longtime anti-discrimination rules.
Jason Andrew for Education Week
Federal Education Department Tells Schools Race Can’t Factor Into Student Discipline
A letter to educators follows up on last month's rescission of longstanding discrimination rules.
Mark Walsh, August 18, 2026
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5 min read
A worker attaches a rope as they prepare to remove the statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson from its pedestal on July 1, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Shenandoah County, Virginia's school board voted 5-1 early Friday, May 10, 2024, to rename Mountain View High School as Stonewall Jackson High School and Honey Run Elementary as Ashby Lee Elementary four years after the names had been removed.
A worker attaches a rope as they prepare to remove the statue of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson from its pedestal on July 1, 2020, in Richmond, Va. The Shenandoah County school board in Virginia—which scrapped the Confederate names for two schools in 2020 and then restored them in 2024—is now under court order to rename the schools.
Steve Helber/AP Photo
Equity & Diversity District Must Rename Schools After It Restored Confederate Names, Judge Rules
The district removed the Confederate names in 2020 only to bring them back four years later.
Matthew Stone, August 7, 2026
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4 min read
Seen is the drawing made by Viejo Elementary School first-grader B.B. that was entered into evidence. B.B. gave the drawing to her classmate, M.C., who is African American. M.C. thanked B.B.
Pictured is a drawing by a 1st grader in California and given to a Black classmate that is at the center of a First Amendment legal challenge over the student's alleged punishment.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
Law & Courts Appeals Court Revives Lawsuit Over 1st Grader’s Black Lives Matter Drawing
A court revived a 1st grader 's claim she was punished for giving a drawing to a Black classmate.
Mark Walsh, March 11, 2026
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4 min read
Black History teacher class with hands raised in front of Philadelphia skyline Jawn orange
Erin K. Robinson for Education Week
Social Studies Opinion My Secret for Engaging Students in a Black History ‘Jawn’
Here’s the class discussion you should be having before introducing a new history lesson.
Abigail Henry, February 2, 2026
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3 min read
School bus outside Patterson High School in St. Mary Parish, in Louisiana.
School bus outside Patterson High School in St. Mary Parish, in Louisiana.
Brad Kemp/The Advocate
Law & Courts After 60 Years, a Louisiana District Fights to Exit Federal Desegregation Order
St. Mary Parish is on the frontlines of a legal battle to end ongoing school desegregation cases dating back to the civil rights era.
Patrick Wall, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La., January 12, 2026
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6 min read
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Minneapolis Public Schools for discrimination in its efforts to shield teachers of color from layoffs and reassignments.
The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Minneapolis Public Schools for discrimination in its efforts to shield teachers of color from layoffs and reassignments.
Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune via TNS
Equity & Diversity Trump Admin. Accuses Minneapolis Schools of Racism in Protecting Minority Teachers
The Justice Department has filed its latest suit alleging racism for efforts to boost teacher diversity.
Anthony Lonetree, Star Tribune, December 11, 2025
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2 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Opinion Scrubbing Critical Conversations About Racism Isn't Helping Your Students
Five ways to create "brave spaces" for your classroom while also embracing humanity.
Larry Ferlazzo, December 1, 2025
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4 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Opinion Schools Cannot Afford to Ignore Race and Identity
People often don't notice discrimination if it doesn't affect them directly.
Larry Ferlazzo, October 13, 2025
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13 min read
A teacher helps two engineering students build a butterfly house.
The Trump administration has sued the Rhode Island Department of Education and the public school district in Providence, saying a program that provides loan forgiveness to teachers of color discriminates against white teachers.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Equity & Diversity Loan Forgiveness for Teachers of Color Is Discriminatory, Trump Admin. Says
The U.S. Department of Justice says the program meant to boost the ranks of minority teachers discriminates against white educators.
Alyson Klein, September 16, 2025
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3 min read
Vector illustration of two hands pulling apart money and it tears in unequal parts.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding How Efforts to Fund Schools More Equitably Actually Worsened Racial Inequality
Researchers examined three decades of school finance reforms in 40 states.
Evie Blad, September 11, 2025
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2 min read
Vector illustration of a large hand holding a contract and a smaller man with a large pen signing the contract while a woman in the background is clutching a gold coin and watching as he signs.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Law & Courts Trump Can't Require Schools to Certify They Won't Use DEI, Judge Says
A federal judge appointed by Trump struck down several efforts made by the U.S. Department of Education to curb educators’ use of DEI.
Brooke Schultz, August 15, 2025
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4 min read
Image of silhouette cutouts in a variety of colors and genders.
FotografiaBasica/iStock/Getty
Equity & Diversity Professional Learning Guide Your Guide to Race & School Culture
This professional learning guide is packed with resources to support K-12 equity and diversity.
August 14, 2025
A Midland ISD employee walks past the front of Legacy High School on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Midland.
A Midland ISD employee walks past the front of Legacy High School on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, in Midland, Texas. The district's board voted to restore a Confederate general's name to two of its schools.
Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune
Equity & Diversity Another District Restores a Confederate Name to Its Schools
The district dropped Robert E. Lee's name from two buildings in 2020. The Lee name will be back for the 2026-27 year.
Brooke Schultz, August 13, 2025
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5 min read
In this Sept. 7, 2018 photo, a student at Grant High School in Portland, Ore., waits for a ride after school. Portland Public Schools relaxed its dress code in 2016 after student complaints that the rules unfairly targeted female students and sexualized their fashion choices.
In this Sept. 7, 2018 photo, a student at Grant High School in Portland, Ore., waits for a ride after school. Portland Public Schools relaxed its dress code in 2016 after student complaints that the rules unfairly targeted female students and sexualized their fashion choices. A new brief has nine recommendations to make dress codes more inclusive in schools.
Gillian Flaccus/AP
Equity & Diversity Q&A Student Dress Codes Can Send the Wrong Message. How to Get Them Right
Recommendations include a climate survey for students and reevaluating subjective language in dress code policies.
Jennifer Vilcarino, August 1, 2025
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6 min read