The members of the Higher Ed Civil Rights Coalition have released a series of 10 policy briefs with specific recommendations to incorporate civil rights into higher education legislation and policy.
The coalition includes organizations such as the American Association of University Women, the National Urban League, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Education Association, the Southern Poverty Law Center, The Education Trust, UnidosUS, the Institute for Higher Education Policy, just to name a few.
Last year, the coalition — convened by The Leadership Conference Education Fund and The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights — released civil rights principles on which the briefs are based. The policy briefs, released under the heading “The Civil Rights Principles for Higher Education: Policy recommendations to achieve equity and protect civil rights,” seek to engage and educate diverse stakeholders and policymakers in pursuit of a higher education system that offers equal opportunity and success for all students, especially the historically marginalized.
“What we’re trying to communicate here is the way in which there is no one silver bullet,” said Liz King, director of education policy at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “We are looking to bring together a host of policies, which we think taken as a whole will really help to move our higher education system forward and ensure that it is effective and equitable and advances civil and human rights for the diverse student population we have today.”
The first principle calls for the robust implementation and enforcement of civil rights laws across all postsecondary institutions that accept federal funds.
“What we’re asking for is first and foremost, always, enforcement of our civil rights laws. Discrimination is unlawful, and we expect the Department of Education to enforce our nondiscrimination laws and hold campuses to account when there is discrimination,” King said.
Under a heading of access, the second principle calls for the removal of barriers to enrollment and the promotion of meaningful access to historically marginalized student groups, which include students of color, students with disabilities, students who have had contact with the justice system and others. The third principle calls for implementing comprehensive student supports with a goal of increasing student persistence and completion.
