SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rev. Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, issues the following statement in reaction to the Collaborative for Student Success’ Check State Plans project released Tuesday, June 27, 2017:
“Today, the Collaborative for Student Success released what I believe, represents a landmark achievement in the discussion surrounding public education (K-12) accountability. While most agree districts and schools must and should serve all of its students well, these statements are seldom backed up with specific measures outlining what good accountability looks like, especially regarding educational equity for Hispanics, minorities and lower-income students.
“The Collaborative’s Check State Plans project changes that. By working hand-in-hand with Bellwether Education Partners, their peer review of state accountability plans provides states across the country with a set of comprehensive feedback from education experts that will help to move our nation closer to ensuring all of America’s students, regardless of race, income or ZIP code, have access to a high quality, public education.
“Not only does this review identify a set of best practices that will help states improve their plans, they have also drawn attention to a glaring hole in the state plans that have already been submitted to the U.S. Department of Education: none of the 17 plans that they reviewed adequately address how they will ensure a high-quality education for all students. Effective accountability clearly impacts education equality, one of the most critical social justice issues of our time, and the Check State Plans projects underscores the fact that there is more work to do. I applaud the Collaborative for Student Success for their leadership in this important area.”
###
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. He has been named by CNN and Fox News as “the leader of the Hispanic Evangelical movement” and TIME Magazine nominated him among the 100 most influential leaders in America.
NHCLC/CONEL is the world’s largest Hispanic Christian organization. It serves as a representative voice for the more than 100 million Hispanic Evangelicals assembled in over 40,000 U.S. churches and another 500,000 congregations spread throughout the Spanish-speaking diaspora.
Website | www.nhclc.org Twitter | @nhclc
Faith and Education Coalition is an initiative of the National Hispanic Christian Leaders Conference (NHCLC). With 2,568 members representing almost 3,000 local churches in 44 states, the Faith and Education Coalition advocates for high-quality education options for all of America’s children.
Website | www.faithandeducation.com
