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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 30, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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underserved students and enable educators to work toward closing achievement gaps.
Inadequate access to and the inequitable distribution of resources negatively affect underserved students educational experience in a number of ways, which may include fewer opportunities for educational enrichment, high-quality early learning, well-rounded coursework, and highquality college and career pathways;
discriminatory design and administration of school discipline and its associated outcomes; and limited access to the most prepared, experienced, and effective teachers.
These factors can limit access to resources and success in student learning.
For example, a December 2020 brief from the National Center for Education Statistics at the Departments Institute of Education Sciences 5 reported that a lower percentage of schools in which 75
percent or more of students were approved for free or reduced-price lunch offered dual enrollment opportunities for students than did schools with lower participation rates in free or reduced-price lunch programs 71 percent, compared with 93 percent for schools in which 35 to 49 percent of students were approved for free or reduced price lunch.
These inequities also include the disproportionate impact of school discipline policies on students of color.6
For example, during the 201718 school year, African American male students comprised 7.7 percent of all male students enrolled in grades K12 but accounted for 35.4 percent of male students who received one or more outof-school suspensions.7 White male students, on the other hand, account for 24.4 percent of all male students enrolled, but represent 35.5 percent of male students who received one or more out-of-school suspensions. Black male students are one-third the populace of White male students with disproportionate suspensions that lead to greater education interruption and can have long-term negative consequences. Data from the same year show that African American female students represented 7.4 percent of the total female enrollment but accounted for 13.3 percent of female students who receive one or more out-of-school 5 nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/
pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2020125.
6 http www.pnas.org/content/116/17/
8255.abstract.
7 201718 Civil Rights Data Collection, released October 2020, updated May 2021, is available at www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-201718.html.

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suspensions, while White females make up 22.9 percent of the total female enrollment and represent 7.99 percent of female students receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. Research suggests that these disparities can be exacerbated by or are the result of educators subjective evaluations of students actions rather than being the product of objective differences in student behavior.8 English learners, LGBTQ+ students, children or students with disabilities as defined in this document, and students from lowincome backgrounds also experience higher rates of discipline compared to their peers.9
Finally, underserved students have less access to qualified educators. For example, schools with high enrollments of students of color were four times as likely to employ uncertified teachers as were schools with low enrollments of students of color.10 Students in schools with high enrollments of students of color also have less access to experienced teachers. In these schools, nearly one in every six teachers is just beginning his or her career, compared to one in every 10 teachers in schools with low enrollments of students of color.11
This proposed priority seeks to address the inequities in our education system and better enable students to access the educational opportunities they need to succeed in school and reach their future goals, in tandem with other Departmental statutes, which require applicants to develop and describe plans for equity for students, educators, and other program beneficiaries.
Proposed Priority:
Projects designed to promote educational equity and adequacy in resources and opportunity for underserved students a In one or more of the following educational settings:
1 Early learning programs.
2 Elementary school.
3 Middle school.
4 High school.
6 Out-of-school-time OST settings.
7 Juvenile justice system or correctional facilities.
8 Adult learning; and b That are designed to examine the sources of inequities related to, and 8 www.apa.org/ed/resources/racialdisparities.pdf.
9 Snapp, S. D., & Russell, S. T. 2016. Discipline disparities for LGBTQ youth: Challenges that perpetuate disparities and strategies to overcome them. In Inequality in school discipline pp. 207
223. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
10 https files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ990114.pdf.
11 learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/
product-files/CRDC_Teacher_Access_REPORT.pdf.

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implement responses through, one or more of the following:
1 Promoting student access to and success in rigorous and engaging approaches to learning that are racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically inclusive and prepare students for college, career, and civic life, including one or more of the following:
i Student-centered learning models that leverage technology to address learner variability e.g., universal design for learning as defined in this notice, K12 competency-based education as defined in this notice, project-based learning, or hybrid/blended learning and provide high-quality learning content, applications, or tools.
ii Middle school courses or projects that prepare students to participate in advanced coursework in high school.
iii Advanced courses and programs, including dual enrollment and early college programs.
iv Project-based and experiential learning, including service and workbased learning.
v High-quality career and technical education courses, pathways, and industry-recognized credentials that are integrated into the curriculum.
vi Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics STEM, including computer science coursework.
vii Civics programs that support students in understanding and engaging in American democratic practices, 2 Increasing the number and proportion of experienced, fully certified, in-field, and effective educators, and educators from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds or the communities they serve.12
3 Improving the preparation, recruitment, and early career support and development of educators in highneed fields as may be defined in the program statute or regulations or hard to staff schools.
4 Improving the retention of fully certified, experienced, and effective educators in high-need schools, and high-need fields.
5 Addressing inequities in access to and success in learning through racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically inclusive pedagogical practice in educator preparation programs and professional development programs so that educators are better prepared to address bias in their classrooms and create inclusive, supportive, equitable, and identity-safe learning environments for their students.
12 All strategies to increase racial diversity of educators must comply with non-discrimination requirements, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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