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In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education launched the Excellent Educators for All initiative to support states and districts in ensuring that students of color and low-income students have equitable access to excellent educators. All 50 states submitted equitable access plans, documenting the equity gaps that students in their state faced, the results of a root cause analysis conducted to better understand the causes of these equity gaps, and plans to implement strategies to close equity gaps and monitor progress of implementation. In December 2015, Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA),[1] which requires states and districts to determine whether low-income students and students of color in Title I schools are served at disproportionate rates by ineffective, out-of-field, or inexperienced teachers, and take steps to address any identified disproportionalities (i.e., gaps in equity).
To support Texas districts in better understanding and addressing the challenges they face in providing equitable access to excellent teachers for the students who need it most, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has developed the Texas Equitable Access Roadmap: A Toolkit to Support Texas Districts to Develop Local Equitable Access Plans. The Roadmap will take district teams through a series of processes to understand, interpret, and implement an action plan around equitable access.
[1] For more information on the Every Student Succeeds Act, visit http://www.ed.gov/essa?src=rn.Information on equity as it relates to states is included in section (1111(g)(1)(B)).
Information on equity as it relates to districts is included in section (1112(b)(2)).
