All students deserve inclusive and supportive learning environments that help them learn, grow, and be successful. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department’s) Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, Supportive, and Fair School Climates, one of the five guiding principles includes recruiting and retaining a diverse educator workforce in an effort to ensure all students have access to diverse, well-prepared, well-qualified, and effective educators. Fostering learning spaces that value diversity, where every student feels valued, is vital within all our educational systems.

Diversifying the educator workforce has been challenging though. Schools across the United States have been contending with persistent staffing shortages. In addition, in June 2023, the Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions, In. (SFFA) v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and SFFA v. University of North Carolina ended race-conscious admission, a tool colleges and universities across the United States had used to diversify their student bodies, which included students who were studying to become teachers and mental health professionals.  

To expand the pipeline of high-quality, trained professionals to address shortages in high-need schools, while also advancing diversity, the Department has launched a number of efforts (e.g., Mental Health Services Professional Demonstration Grant Program, School Based Mental Health Services Grant Program, National Guidelines for Registered Apprenticeship Standards for K-12 Teachers). This has led state education agencies (SEAs), regional educations agencies (REAs), local education agencies (LEAs or districts), and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to partner together to train, place, hire and, ultimately, retain diverse students who become school professionals. However, as they do their work, they may be grappling with the Supreme Court’s recent decision and can benefit from guidance around the ways in which they can continue to ensure the experience for all students includes the educational benefits of diversity.

This issue of the Bringing Into Focus presents a curated list of pertinent resources with information and promising strategies to help IHEs, SEAs, REAs, and LEAs understand and respond to the impact and implications of the Supreme Court’s decision while working to maintain and advance diversity.

In response to the Supreme Court's decision to end race conscious admissions, the Department convened a National Summit on Educational Opportunity to provide colleges and universities with clarity on what admissions practices and additional programs to support students remain lawful. Following the Summit, the Department produced this report, elevating promising admissions practices to build inclusive, diverse student bodies, including by using measures of adversity. The report addresses topics including the impact of current admissions practices that may negatively affect the admissions chances of students from underserved communities; strategies to integrate measures of adversity in admissions; outreach and recruitment programs to create diverse applicant pools; strategies for retention and degree completion; and financial and other support programs to make college attainable. Institutions of higher education and state leaders are encouraged to use this resource to consider the ways in which they can expand access to educational opportunity for all.

National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments | https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov

The contents of the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments' Bringing Into Focus were assembled under a contract from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Supportive Schools to the American Institutes for Research (AIR), Contract Number ED-ESE-16-A-0002. The contents of this product do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the U.S. Department of Education, nor do they imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education.