Why School Boards Remain a Central Part of the Black Community’s Long Struggle for Equity
School boards are vital democratic institutions with the power to contribute to equitable, humanizing educational environments. As public education faces mounting political challenges, including voucher expansion and anti-equity efforts, effective school board governance becomes increasingly critical.
Why School Boards Remain a Central Part of the Black Community’s Long Struggle for Equity
In 2012, the school board in Tucson, Arizona, voted 4-1 to eliminate its successful Mexican American Studies program after extreme state pressure. Communities, including youth, pushed back before the vote and continued to push after the vote. Their advocacy led to a Supreme Court case ruling, five years later, that the state law was unconstitutional and racist. Yet, the school board conceded, and the impact meant that students could not access this proven curriculum that reflected a unique cultural lens and mirrored many of these youths’ experiences and histories.
School board governance that aims to advance an equitable and just education in this country requires more than a “stay in your lane” approach that rubber stamps pre-made decisions. School boards need deep understanding, foundational knowledge, coalition-building skills, the ability to navigate various systems, and the capacity to strategically imagine the possibilities.
Based on the book, Navigating School Board Politics: A Framework for Advancing Equity, this research brief highlights evidence-based recommendations and strategies for both school boards and the communities they represent. These include considerations for establishing systems to expand the school board pipeline, engage communities, improve transparency, identify inequities, and create spaces to include community voices in strategic planning.
As Nelson Mandela famously stated, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." If we believe this to be true, then it is clear why public education is, and has always been, political.
The current assault on public education and equity carries particularly devastating consequences for marginalized communities. When it comes to Black education, Black communities have fought long and hard for a high-quality public education. Political antics to remove educational opportunities are historically embedded in the educational trajectories of Black communities. From laws that prohibited literacy and laws that allowed for separate and unequal schools to policies and practices that upheld and continue to uphold the school-to-prison nexus, the systematic undermining of educational opportunity has deep roots with urgent implications today. Public education is not perfect and is too often not equitable. Yet, we would not fight for something we do not care about, believe in, and know its power, which is why many Black communities, and other marginalized communities, continue to fight for public education in this country. And the democratic project of school boards is a central part of this fight.
School Board Governance: Toward Healthy & Humanizing Schools
School boards are vital democratic institutions with the power to contribute to equitable, humanizing educational environments. As public education faces mounting political challenges, including voucher expansion and anti-equity efforts, effective school board governance becomes increasingly critical.
Behind the Brief with Dr. Carrie Sampson
In this short video, Dr. Sampson details the critical role of school boards, how they function as democratic institutions, and their specific importance for the advancement of Black education.
About the Series
BERC Briefs summarize groundbreaking research on topics in Black education. Behind the Brief introduces you to each scholar and their research process.
About the Author
Dr. Carrie Sampson is an Associate Professor in the Division for Advancing Education Policy, Practice, and Leadership at Arizona State University. Her research focuses on K-12 educational leadership and equity, examining school boards, district policymaking, and community advocacy. She has received various awards and recognition for her scholarship, including the National Academy of Education/Spencer and Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships, AERA Division A Early Career Award, and the UCEA William J. Davis Award for her article published in Educational Administration Quarterly, entitled “(Im)Possibilities of Latinx School Board Members’ Educational Leadership Toward Equity.” Dr. Sampson also serves as a fellow for the National Education Policy Center and the Black Education Research Center.