Equity in schools means providing every student with whatever they need to succeed; to master their state standards.  This concept requires understanding that some students will need more because they start further back from what the standards require than others.  Every student has hurdles to learning, however, some have many more hurdles than others. It also requires understanding that students can go beyond the standards if they so desire. There is no ceiling to the learning.

 Supports that students may need to achieve the standards could include additional tutoring, high quality preschool opportunities, housing and nutritional support, health care at school to manage their chronic health needs, specialized technology to support their ability to read or write, mental health supports so they can focus on their learning, acceptance of who they are both culturally and individually, instruction provided in ways that supports their learning and ensures they are engaged, …. and the list goes on and on.  Providing equity to students is to give each child what they need for school success regardless of their background or identity.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has an illustration that does a great job of illustrating equity.   The illustration shows that if the goal is to have everyone ride a bike, you must provide the right size and type of bike to each individual that supports their needs. There is not a one bike that fits all needs. However, the goal of everyone riding a bike can be reached when applying equity.  

Schools that ensure all their students succeed at high levels understand equity and practice it daily, regardless of which way the political winds are blowing.  I am extremely thankful for those educators and schools that work every day to provide each student with whatever they need to succeed in school.  They do not let bureaucrats detour them with their edicts and ignorance. 

The US Department of Education (2025, Feb. 14) sent a “dear colleague” letter to educators across the country.  This letter was written by the Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights for the Department. It states, “The Department will no longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions” (p.3).

 Discrimination in our schools is not new.  The education system in our country began primarily serving white boys.  Over time the pool of students served has slowly broadened.  Federal laws were passed and court rulings handed down to ensure students with disabilities (IDEA), student learning English as a second language, (Lau v. Nichols; EEOA; ESEA), students of any national origin (Plyer v. Doe; Civil Rights Act of 1964), and students of any race (Civil Rights Act of 1964; Brown v BOE) could participate in our education system.   

The Department recognizes that discrimination occurs in our schools when they state: “American educational institutions have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families.” (p. 1).  However, they assert that DEI programs “discriminate in less direct but equally insidious ways.” (p.3).  They do not recognize that equity (providing each student with what they need for success) is the way out of a discriminatory system.  

So while the Department recognizes that discrimination occurs they simultaneously assert that equity in schools will no longer be tolerated. Equity is the very thing that can cure discrimination in our schools.

It is only with hard work to provide equity and inclusions in our schools that we have slowly reduced the amount of discrimination that students experience. This lack of knowledge or skewed perception that leads to the Department to equate “diversity, equity, and inclusion” with racial discrimination and practices that promote discrimination is bureaucratic ignorance. Rather DEI, and equity specifically, are tools to create an even greater school system that includes all students and ensures all students master the academic standards set by their state.

For years many schools have used a one size for all learning approach which allowed some students to master state standards and other students to fail to master the standards because their specific needs were not met.  Maybe they started further back from the finish line and were not provided with the support needed to close the gap.  Or maybe they did not feel fully welcomed and included in the learning so that created a barrier to their learning.  Once again, this list goes on and on. 

Each year schools are required by law to report on how their students did in mastering literacy and mathematics standards. They report these scores to the U.S. Department of Education.  Schools are required by federal law to report these scores by various groups of students including race, socioeconomic status, disability status, and English Language Learner status.  This reporting of student mastery by different groups is recognition at a macro level that some groups of students may need additional supports for learning. 

Schools practicing equity have embraced this data as important guidance and have moved to provide physical, mental, and academic supports that individual students need to ensure their learning.  This is equity.  In these schools’ academic achievement of all students has soared.  They embrace the data as information to help them modify their practices rather than blaming students or parents or circumstances for failure.  They have refused to let their students fail.

I wonder what the Departments’ real intent is under the guise of getting rid of “DEI because it is a discriminatory practice.” I wonder: are these bureaucrats afraid that providing some students with additional support to ensure that all students master the standards will be a hinderance to their children?  Or are they afraid that other children will achieve at the same high level as their child.  We cannot castigate our schools for failing to ensure all students master the academic standards if what we really want is for some children to achieve at high levels and others to fail by denying them equity.

If we really want a stronger and better United States of America, we will provide the equity needed to ensure every student achieves at a high level. We need a Department of Equity that understands equity and supports schools and educators in their work to apply equity in school. That is the way we create a stronger, greater nation.

References. 

Brown v. Board of Education 347 U.S. 483 (1954).

Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Civil Rights), 42 U.S.C. § 1981-2000d-7. (2009).

Education of Individuals with Disabilities (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 – 1482. (2015).

Equal Educational Opportunities and Transportation of Students (EEOA), 20 U.S.C. § 1701-1758 (1974).

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), 20 U.S.C. §1701-7981 U.S.C. (2015).

Lau v. Nichols 414 U.S. 563 (1974)

Plyler v. Doe 457 U.S. 202 (1982)

U.S. Department of Education (2025, Feb. 14). Title VI of the Civil Rights Act In Light of Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard https://www.ed.gov/media/document/dear-colleague-letter-sffa-v-harvard-109506.pdf

This blog is written by Dr. GwenCarol Holmes, a long-time educator and passionate advocate for all students mastering rigorous standards.