• Nov 13, 2009

Reaffirming the Role of School Integration in K-12 Public Education Policy: A Conversation Among Policymakers, Advocates and Educators

  • 9:30-10:00 AM
  • Howard University School of Law, Washington, D.C.

Friday, November 13, 2009, 10:00 AM
Howard University School of Law
Washington, D.C.

This conference brings together a wide range of government officials to converse with educators, civil rights advocates, and scholars who support racially and economically integrated K-12 public schools. Participants will learn about racial and socioeconomic integration incentives in current and proposed federal policies, regulations and spending programs. Panelists and audience members also will discuss current integration efforts on the ground that sustain quality integrated schools and stable communities.

CURRENT AGENDA:

9:30-10:00 AM – Registration

10:00-10:30 AM – Why Are We Here?

  • Theodore Shaw, Professor of Professional Practice, Columbia Law School
  • Lisa Chavez, Research Analyst, Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity

Moderated by: John Brittain, Visiting Professor of Law, UDC David A. Clarke School of Law

10:30-11:45 AM – What the Federal Government Is Doing, and What It Can Do, to Reduce Racial and Socioeconomic Isolation and Promote Diversity in K-12 Schools

  • Russlynn Ali, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, US Department of Education
  • Anurima Bhargava, Director of the Education Practice, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
  • Julie Fernandes, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, US Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights (unable to attend)
  • Roslyn Mickelson, Professor of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
  • Jocelyn Samuels, Senior Counselor, US Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights
  • Pat Todd, Executive Director for Student Assignment, Jefferson County Public Schools

Moderated by: Derek Black, Associate Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law

12:00-1:00 PM – Federal Education Funding and Opportunities to Promote K-12 School Integration

  • Susan Eaton, Research Director, The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School
  • David Hinojosa, Education Staff Attorney, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
  • Bill Magnotta, President-Elect, Magnet Schools of America
  • Carmel Martin, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, US Department of Education
  • Sean Reardon, Associate Professor of Education and (by courtesy) Sociology, Stanford University
  • Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the President, White House Domestic Policy Council

Moderated by: Lia Epperson, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

1:00-2:00 PM – Lunch

2:15-3:30 PM – Promoting Integration Through Interdistrict Programs

  • Denise Forte, Committee Staff, House Education and Labor Committee (unable to attend)
  • David Johns, Senior Education Advisor, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
  • Caty Royce, Director, Fund for an OPEN Society
  • Don Senti, Superintendent, School District of Clayton
  • William Taylor, Chair, Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights
  • Amy Stuart Wells, Professor of Sociology and Education, Teachers College Columbia University

Moderated by: Dennis Parker, Director, ACLU Racial Justice Program

3:45-5:00 PM – Linking Housing Opportunity to Integrated Schools

  • Dolores Acevedo-Garcia, Associate Director, Institute on Urban Health Research, Northeastern University (unable to attend)
  • Michelle Aronowitz, Deputy General Counsel for Fair Housing and Enforcement, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to President for Urban Affairs, Domestic Policy Counsel
  • Demetria McCain, Director of Advocacy & Education, Inclusive Communities Project
  • Myron Orfield, Executive Director, Institute on Race and Poverty at University of Minnesota Law

Moderated by: Philip Tegeler, Executive Director, Poverty & Race Research Action Council

5:00-5:30 PM – Next Steps

  • Gary Orfield, Co-Director, The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA
  • john powell, Executive Director, The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University

Moderated by: John Charles Boger, Dean, University of North Carolina School of Law

Conference Location: The conference will be held at Howard University School of Law, which is located at 2900 Van Ness Street, N.W. in Washington DC. Most sessions will be held in the Moot Court Room, which is situated in Hamilton Hall.

Registration Fees:

  • $50 General Registration
  • $25 Student Registration

The registration fee includes lunch and conference materials. A limited number of registration stipends are available. Please contact Gina Chirichigno at gchirichigno@law.harvard.edu for more information.

Hotel Information: Our room block at the Days Inn Hotel on Connecticut Ave. (www.dcdaysinn.com) is sold out. Conference attendees in need of lodging may contact the Hilton Garden Inn in Bethesda, MD (three stops away from the conference site on the red line) at 301-654-8111. Unfortunately, we are not able to contribute to travel and lodging expenses at this time.

Questions:

Hosted by:

  • NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
  • Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
  • The ACLU Racial Justice Program
  • Poverty & Race Research Action Council
  • Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
  • Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights
  • The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA
  • The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice at Harvard Law School
  • The Center for Civil Rights at UNC School of Law
  • Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity at the Ohio State University
  • Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota Law School
  • Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity at Berkeley Law School
  • Howard University School of Law Education Rights Center
  • The Fair Housing Law Clinical Program at Howard University School of Law
  • Center for Understanding Race and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University
  • Education and the Public Interest Center (EPIC) at the University of Colorado at Boulder

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