White House Convenes Agencies to Present Equity Action Plans

Yesterday, the White House hosted a virtual convening of more than 90 federal agencies, including Cabinet-level agencies, to present their first-ever Equity Action Plans. These plans, developed in response to President Biden’s executive order to advance racial equity and support for marginalized constituencies, highlight each agency’s strategy for addressing systemic barriers in their policy implementation.

In the Department of Education (ED) plan, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona identified five objectives that will build upon the agency’s recent efforts to advance equity and calls for specific investments in special education and students with disabilities.

• ED aims to increase access to and completion of postsecondary education for underserved communities, including students with disabilities who face “particular challenges in persistence and completion.”
• ED is promoting the equitable impact of American Rescue Plan funding in K-12 schools by making sure the statutory requirement of addressing the needs of students disproportionally impacted by the pandemic is met.
• The Office of Civil Rights will resume collection of certain data points, such as the number of teachers certified to teach special education, to assess educational access and equity.
• ED will increase the diversity of peer reviewers for grants that cover a variety of projects, including special education and support services for students with disabilities.
• The last objective calls for the establishment of equity-based guidelines in contracting and procurement processes to minimize barrier to participation of historically underserved communities.

Read the plan here.