Education Improvement

WHEREAS, in the1954 landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, the NAACP, through its attorneys — including Thurgood Marshall — played a pivotal role in persuading the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm the goal of equality of educational opportunity for all children. Nearly fifty years after the Brown decision, the Association recognizes that severe racial inequities still persist in many of our nation's schools; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP reaffirms previous resolutions designed to ensure resource equity, teacher quality and the eradication of illiteracy; and

WHEREAS, low performing schools across the country are frequently located in urban areas where most black children attend school;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the NAACP will reaffirm its efforts to advocate for a complete reauthorization of the NCLB Act that includes redefining the accountability process, demanding 100% of the Title One Funding to low-performing school districts which will pay for stronger dual language programs to include cultural awareness and enable districts to offer more professional development to as many teachers necessary to educate our kids in the low performing districts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, for increased collection of and transparency in accountability data so that the public and the school systems become more aware of the race, national origin and class dimensions related to the allocation of various qualities of educational services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP take all appropriate actions to address the circumstances already proven to exist by advocating proven programs to increase the graduation rate, increase funding for low performing schools and increase funding in remedial education and specifically in reading and math; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP enters into litigation against the government entities that refuse to provide proper education and make available employment opportunities for our children; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP identify these school districts with unequal funding formulas and develop strategies for equalization of funding.