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Even before they are born children face systemic inequalities.

A new report digs into this national problem.

“More than half of the 74 million children in the United States are children of color, and they are served by learning systems that are gravely inequitable. The COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the health, economic wellbeing, and education of young children, only exacerbate existing inequalities,” according to the report, “Start with Equity: From the Early Years to the Early Grades.”

Released by The Children’s Equity Project, at Arizona State University, and the Bipartisan Policy Center, the report is, according to its website, “an actionable policy roadmap for states and the federal government—as well as for candidates at all levels of government vying for office—to take meaningful steps to remedy these inequities in early learning and education systems.”

These themes are also explored in a related webinar series. Links to recordings of the first two webinars, which took place earlier this month, are available on the report website. The next two webinars will be on Tuesday, July 28, 2020, and Thursday, August 6, 2020.

The report and webinars draw on two meetings of “more than 70 experts from universities, think tanks and organizations.” These experts focused on three policy areas where inequities persist:

• harsh discipline and its disproportionate use

“National data show that more than 160,000 children were subject to corporal punishment in a given year. More than 1,500 of those were preschool students.

• the segregation of children with disabilities in learning settings

“Today, more than half of preschoolers with disabilities still receive their services in segregated settings.”

• the inequitable and inadequate access to bilingual learning opportunities that dual language and English learners face

“There is a lack of bilingual education nationwide. In some places where bilingual learning does exist, DLLs and ELs are underrepresented; in other places, they are locked out as a matter of policy.

“English immersion or ‘English-only’ programs are commonplace for DLLs and ELs, but they are not effective.”

The report adds:

“We believe that addressing unique learning inequities in tribal communities is another pivotal policy area. In the coming months, we plan to issue a separate report focusing exclusively on this issue.”

There is hope – if the country addresses the many challenges that children face. As the report notes:

“Early learning experiences can have long-lasting, life-changing effects on children. Unfortunately, it is clear that the systems charged with providing those experiences are not living up to their promise.”

Some key findings and lessons that the report shares are:

• racial disparities are pervasive across states and across children’s age ranges

• “Teacher preparation and professional development is poorly resourced, and it inadequately and insufficiently addresses equity in learning.”

• “Segregated learning for children with disabilities is common and varies by state, child race, and disability category.”

• “Federal and state monitoring and accountability is either insufficient or altogether absent,” and

• “Data gaps across issue areas—but especially on dual language learners—obscure a clear understanding of how systems work and how well they support children.”

What can be done?

The report recommends:

• “Fully funding programs designed to support children from marginalized communities,” including IDEA, Head Start, and Titles I and III of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

• “Including funding in upcoming economic stimulus bills that address equitable access to quality early learning.”

• “Requiring states to report plans to make learning systems more equitable in applications for federal funding, and that federal agencies tie funding to progress on such plans.”

• “Supporting and funding educator preparation and development grounded in equity,” and

• “Ensuring all education legislation prioritizes racial, ethnic, linguistic, socioeconomic, and ability-based integration.”

As the report points out:

“The time for change is now. In fact, it is especially now. Policymakers’ responses to both the pandemic and to the uprising against racial injustice will determine whether children continue to be locked out of opportunity for another generation—or longer—or are given the fair chance they need to reach their full potential.”

“These and other reforms that address inequities in learning, are critical to our economy, our capacity to be competitive on a global scale, and our ability to live up to the core principles of equality on which this country was founded. But even more fundamentally, they are necessary because all children deserve the chance to reach their full potential, regardless of what they look like, where they are from, or what disability they may have. We can and must do better.”