Race, Education, and COVID-19
Recent events have shed light on racial disparities in education. Pictured: A cardboard sign reading “Black Lives Matter” being held up amidst a crowd of people. No faces are visible.
It is a somber moment in our nation’s history. In the midst of a global pandemic, the recent murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd shed a harsh light on the reality that racism’s tight grip on every aspect of our society has yet to be loosened – with consequences that literally mean life or death for communities of color.
It therefore is no surprise that those same communities are being hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though this pandemic is unprecedented, the racial disparities it has highlighted, exacerbated, and created, are part of a familiar pattern.
What are MAC’s concerns?
Prior to the pandemic, students of color across the state were already receiving less special education services, less school funding, and less language access and support than White students. And while we appreciate the current spotlight on racial disparities in education, we hope it will continue to shine and, most importantly, lead to real change.
Schools across Massachusetts officially closed down in mid-April, and rapidly adapted to new, remote ways of providing children their right to an education. In this rapid shift, there are many ways that the children already facing barriers – disproportionately children of color – could fall through the cracks. We’ve outlined some of our main concerns here:
Limited access to language support for English Language Learners
Students and families across the state have the right to education materials – including IEPs and notices about remote learning – in their primary language. MAC has fought persistently to protect this right. With students and teachers connecting virtually, effective communication is more vital than ever – and more difficult to maintain.
Remote education has cast many parents in the new, unfamiliar role of teacher, with schools handing them a manual in a language they don’t understand. We’ve heard from parents who are not receiving critical notices about rapidly changing policies and practices from schools in their primary language, parents who are at a loss with guiding their children through homework assignments and new technology without access to support and instructions in their primary language, and who are unable to make critical school closure-related adjustments to their child’s IEP without language interpreters available to assist. This is unacceptable.
Forty-three percent of essential workers nationwide are people of color. Pictured: A man pushing a hand cart containing a plastic drum. He is in a warehouse and wearing a white sweatshirt and plastic head cap.
Inequitable access to remote learning
Successful remote learning requires some basic tools – steady internet access, functioning computers, and the knowledge to use them. Our initial outreach has shown us that Black and Latinx families are far less likely to have access to these tools, leaving them trailing behind their more privileged White classmates.
Critically, successful remote learning also requires close guidance and time from adults who have access to these tools. For many parents working through the pandemic, this simply is not possible. Forty-three percent of “essential workers” nationwide are people of color – many of them parents -- who must somehow find a way to educate their children on top of working dangerous jobs to put food on the table.
Long-term trauma
Black people represent a disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, in Massachusetts and across the nation. Children of color are experiencing this loss and its traumatic impact every day.
In addition, the economic impacts of the pandemic – job loss, food insecurity, evictions – can also be traumatic for children. Childhood trauma can have devastating impacts on learning. In a society where children of color are suspended and excluded from school at disproportionate rates, the potential rise in frequently misunderstood trauma-related behaviors is frightening. Without proactive supports in place, this pandemic has the potential to reignite the ugly cycle of the school-to-prison pipeline and gradual pushing of students of color from safe, supportive learning environments.
Kevin Murray, MAC’s Executive Director, summarizes MAC’s role in addressing these concerns: “In education, as in so many things, COVID-19 threatens to worsen existing racial inequities. It’s MAC’s job to work with others to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
How is MAC helping?
We developed and shared a sample email template for families to use to request language access support during school closures
We’re gathering data on access to remote learning tools and coordinating with our partners to gain a deep understanding of the barriers parents are facing with remote schooling
We sent a list summarizing our concerns for school reopenings, and initial recommendations for addressing them, to Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey C. Riley
We’re connecting with families in our weekly virtual chats – in English and Spanish – to inform them of their rights and rapidly changing guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)
And more – follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (@MassAdvocates) for the latest news