Racial Justice in Education Framework Principles

Background

NEA has a vision for a for every student. We know that institutional and structural racism are barriers to achieving our vision. We will leverage the power and collective voice or our members to end the systemic patterns of racial inequity and injustice that affect our Association, schools, students and education communities.

Racial Justice in Education Framework Principles

• Our collective work promotes a vision for public education that advances inclusion, equity, and racial and social justice in our schools, Association, and society.
• Our collective work must dismantle white supremacy, and ensure that bigotry and discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, disability, or national origin are not part of our Association, classrooms, educational curricula, classroom management, school policies, and discipline practices.
• Our Association and schools must be safe for all students, and free from state-sanctioned, racialized, and gender-based violence. Our work must actively divest from prison cultivation and invest in counselors and positive discipline practices.
• Our work must result in action – programs, campaigns, policies, and capacity-building efforts for local NEA members that dismantle institutional racism now and into the future. Initiatives should create sustainable infrastructures that can continue to create systemic change and hold decision-makers, elected officials, and institutions accountable.
• Our current governance leaders must recruit, engage, and promote leadership by educators of color to share the ladder of opportunity because we are stronger together.
• Programs, campaigns, and projects must be driven by goals that are clearly outlined, tracked, and measured, and that have accountability systems that explicitly promote racial justice.
• Our work must promote education policies, professional practices, and curricula which highlight and honor the histories and cultures of people of color and indigenous peoples.
• We must work to ensure that all students have access to a safe and quality education, regardless of their country of origin or immigration status.
• Our work must promote and support the engagement of students of color and LGBTQ students in shaping policies that directly impact their educational experience, and foster safe and inclusive schools.
• We must work to dismantle discipline systems that create the School to Prison Pipeline and replace them with practices that encourage inclusion and are free from racial and ethnic bias.