Strengthening the Federal Approach to Educational Equity During the Pandemic

Abstract

Strengthening the Federal Approach to Educational Equity During the Pandemic provides a timely analysis of three issues of great national significance for education and the United States. First, it synthesizes preliminary research regarding the pandemic’s educational harms through the 2020–2021 school year, including learning losses and the disparate impact of the pandemic on particular subgroups of children. It concludes by noting that the disproportionate adverse impact of the pandemic on vulnerable subgroups should lead federal intervention to prioritize educational equity. Second, it describes the federal legislative and executive response to the pandemic and critiques how this response may impact educational equity. Finally, after explaining a comprehensive theory for education federalism that prioritizes educational equity, the article proposes how the federal response to the pandemic should be strengthened to advance a coherent and consistent approach to education federalism that focuses on educational equity.

Keywords: COVID, pandemic, equity, education, agency, president, CDC, federalism, learning loss, subgroup, poverty, poor, school, children of color, schoolchildren, student, child, parents, teachers, principals, states, disparate impact, race, national origin, LGBTQ, disability, English Learner, ARP, CARES

JEL Classification: I2, I20, I21, I24, I28, I3, I38