Statement of Need

The Urbana School District acknowledges that persistent racial disparities, socio-economic disparities, inequities, and academic barriers in our district are unacceptable. We are a community devoted to dismantling inequitable practices so that all students reach their personal greatness. Equity is essential to the well-being and success of our schools, our students, and our community. Previous efforts to address the inequities between white students and students of color, have historically been largely unsuccessful. This policy will ensure that efforts continue to achieve educational equity for all USD116 students.

Equity is the removal of systematic barriers and strives to achieve inclusion of all students, especially those who have historically been underserved in public education settings. The concept of educational equity goes beyond equality, where all students are treated the same, to fostering a barrier-free environment in which all students, regardless of their background or  personal attributes, are extended the opportunities and resources required for success.

The purpose of this policy is to re-imagine a framework of actionable steps to eliminate institutional racism, inequities of opportunity, and academic disparities in our district. These factors affect student achievement and learning, and our ongoing work will allow us to create equitable working and learning environments that welcome, respect, and value diversity.

We acknowledge the responsibility for the disparities among our young people rests with adults, not children. We declare the following:

• We affirm our commitment to close disparities in academic performance between White
  students and Black, Indigenous, Students of Color (BISOC) students.
• We affirm our commitment to equalizing the disproportionate graduation percentage rates
  between White students and Black, Indigenous, Students of Color.
• We affirm our commitment to eliminate the disproportionate disciplinary consequences
  between Black, Indigenous, Students of Color compared to White students for similar
  offenses.
• We affirm our commitment to eliminate all identified systemic barriers that have created opportunity gaps in access, enrollment, and success in advanced classes for Black,
  Indigenous, Students of Color.
• We affirm our commitment to eliminate all identified systemic barriers and inequities that
  have constructed academic and social opportunity gaps for students with (dis)abilities.
• We affirm our commitment to eliminate all identified systemic barriers and educational
  inequities that have negatively impacted multilingual and immigrant students compared
  to White, English-speaking students.
• We affirm our commitment to create intentional systemic college and career readiness
  pathways to assist all students in post-high school success.

This list of affirmations does not represent an exhaustive list of ways in which disparities exist
within our schools. We acknowledge that any disparity is unacceptable and directly at odds with
our belief that all students can achieve.

We recognize that the Urbana School District has a responsibility to educate, but we also acknowledge that public schools have an important role in demonstrating inclusiveness and antiracism to the community as a whole.

The District’s vision for all students is to ensure that all learners acquire knowledge, develop
skills, and build character to achieve and succeed at high levels to reach their personal greatness.
This requires the District to see each student as an individual with different strengths and needs
and meet each student where they are academically, emotionally, and socially. We seek to nurture
the potential of each student. We acknowledge it is imperative that every student sees
themselves, their history, and their culture reflected through their educational experience.

Urbana School District affirms that equity will not be achieved if it consists of merely inviting
students and families into spaces that already exist. Instead, this Policy requires us to be
intentional with our efforts to create new spaces and opportunities that are intentionally founded
with the diverse backgrounds of our historically marginalized families in mind.
In order to realize equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone, equity must be applied
across the following list, which includes but is not limited to:

• race,
• ethnicity,
• gender,
• gender identity,
• gender expression,
• sexual orientation,
• socioeconomic status,
• religion,
• national origin,
• foster status,
• housing status and/or housing security
• involvement with the juvenile justice system,
• (dis)ability,
• immigration status,
• or linguistic background.

Urbana School District’s climate and culture are designed and operated to be reflective of
equitable policies, practices, and procedures in each building, every classroom, and all
extracurricular activities.

We, Urbana School District, are committed to disrupting and transforming the current and historical systems that have been inequitable in their existence. We recognize that our students
have various real-life experiences and personal characteristics that will require diverse pathways
to success.

In order to achieve educational equity for our students:

A. The District shall provide every student with equitable access to academically rigorous,
social and emotionally responsive, and culturally sustaining education even when this
means differentiating resources to accomplish this goal.
B. The District shall provide ongoing professional development in the areas of bias and
culturally responsive teaching, which include adequate time for feedback and
self-reflection.
C. The District shall negotiate, re-allocate and re-imagine resources, opportunities, and
supports when equal distribution results in inequitable outcomes that do not adequately
meet specific needs and interests of all groups of students.
D. The District shall recruit, employ, support, and retain racially and linguistically diverse
and culturally competent teachers, support staff, and administrators.
E. The District shall remedy the inequitable practices that lead to the over-representation of
students of color in areas such as special education and discipline and the
under-representation in programs such as acceleration and Advanced Placement.
F. The District shall strengthen partnerships with and empower families, especially
historically marginalized populations, which include underrepresented people of color
and those with varying linguistic backgrounds, as authentic partners in the educational
process, school planning, and District decision-making.
G. The District will investigate existing policies that may serve as barriers to access and full
engagement for students.