COVID-19 highlights racial inequities in school funding
Disparities in education are nothing new for New Jersey. But the current pandemic has heightened the differences in schooling between students of different races: The latest data confirm that white students are more likely to have access to at least some in-person schooling, compared to students of color.
And the differences in schooling, according to an analysis I’ve published with the New Jersey Policy Perspective, appear to be driven by differences in funding.
This past summer, the Murphy administration urged New Jersey’s school districts to prepare to open the doors of their buildings at least part-time for students. Districts could implement “hybrid” schooling plans, where students would mix online and in-person learning. Students would be separated into cohorts that would switch off between attending school and learning from home; this way, social distancing could be maintained in smaller classes.
It quickly became apparent, however, that some school districts would not be able to implement a hybrid plan in time for the September opening of school. Superintendents across the state began requesting waivers, which the state reviewed and, in many cases, granted.
A look at the available data
On Sept. 13, NJ Spotlight News published a list of districts that had been granted waivers, as well as the plans of most other school districts and charter schools for the fall. In our analysis, we combined this list with enrollment and fiscal data to determine how school reopening plans might be different for students of different races.
Our analysis shows that only about one-third of New Jersey’s students are in a district that CONTINUE READING: Op-Ed: COVID-19 shows NJ school funding iniquities | NJ Spotlight News
