Investigating Opportunity Gaps and Considering Scalable, Essential Educational Resources for Addressing Them

• In Event: Closing Educational Opportunity Gaps: Exploring a Federal Right to Education

Abstract

Objectives
This paper will review the opportunity gap and how a federal right to education could serve as a vehicle to close critical gaps in access to high-quality teachers and principals, course materials, a rigorous curriculum, and technology. The paper will draw upon lessons from four states’ efforts to close this gap. Considerations will be made about the potential of scalability of these practices and the necessity of including them in a federal right to education.

Theoretical Framework
The opportunity gap is a well documented phenomenon that is widely acknowledged in educational spaces (e.g., Carter & Welner, 2013) that encompasses not just differences in student outcomes, but also differences in student inputs.

Methods/Data
While not currently a federal requirement, certain states have been required by their state constitutions to provide equal opportunities for education. In Leandro v. State of North Carolina, the North Carolina Supreme Court held that the state must provide every student with an equal opportunity for a “sound, basic education" and ordered a dramatic increase in state funding to ensure that this right was protected. Although the state had made progress in an earlier era, a decade of budget cuts persuaded the court that new efforts must be undertaken (Oakes et al, 2021). Similarly, in California, an earlier lawsuit, Williams v. California, laid the groundwork for several iterations of school finance reform that have recently resulted in a more progressive funding formula. In Abbott v. Burke, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the state must provide parity funding for underfunded districts to enable a “thorough and efficient education” (Darling-Hammond, 2019). In Yazzie/Martinez v. State of New Mexico, a court found that the state was not protecting the right for students to be college and career ready, which led to state legislative reform (Oakes et al, 2020).

Actions surrounding all of these cases have used state constitutional provisions to articulate student rights and have triggered progress following court decisions that the current system was not meeting students’ needs. This paper utilizes national and state quantitative data on student outcomes along with comparative policy case studies to compare the evidence-based practices recommended in those contexts and consider potential applicability across states in a federal system.

Results
When policy strategies within these states are compared, a number of scalable commonalities emerge, including the need for: a) knowledgeable, professional educators; b) a curriculum to meet students’ current needs, c) equitable school funding, and d) identification of necessary student supports to counteract factors outside of school, including integrated student supports, appropriate technology, and material resources.

Significance
This work furthers previous quantitative analyses and case study research by considering equity-enhancing state strategies that reduce disparities in outcomes and the necessary components when scaling these requirements to a national level. This is relevant to policymakers and those interested in advocating for equitable access and educational opportunities. As the Every Student Succeeds Act was due for reauthorization in 2020-2021 but was delayed, these findings may be especially relevant when reauthorization is considered.

Author

• Linda Darling-Hammond, Learning Policy Institute