Preparation for Educators On-going Implicit Bias Training Standards

WHEREAS, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) recognizes the effect of school environment on student academic performance and supports efforts to improve the climate of all schools; and

WHEREAS, there is a need to create culturally-responsive curriculum and framework, address underfunded public schools, correct disparately applied and racially exclusionary student discipline policies and practices, and there is a need for more inclusive leadership skills throughout the district leadership continuum; and

WHEREAS, the Racial bias/attitudes/behaviors of educators appear to serve as causal factors for disproportionately higher referrals of Black students for discipline and special education for willful defiance and behavior on national, state and local levels; there is a need to eliminate the racially traumatic school experiences that include school policing and punitive discipline Black students encounter at higher rates than non-Black peers, and research proves that Black students' traumatic encounters in schools can strongly decrease by diversifying the workforce with culturally responsive educators, more specifically, culturally responsive Black teachers, counselors, and school leaders. 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP advocate that local, state, and federal authorities require the provision of resources in all curriculum content areas that provide equitable representation of the diversity represented in all cultures in all hiring and curriculum committees, and that all school districts will hire a chief diversity officer.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP encourages all higher education institutions, and specifically those that are engaged in teacher education and any alternative teacher certification programs, to increase their commitment to the preparation of candidates for teaching positions to be culturally responsive in order to help avoid the continued institutionalization of implicit bias.