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Rep. Jayapal introduces All Students Count Act

The legislation is designed to promote equitable access to education

Rep Jayapal / LinkedIn

U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal and Senator Mazie Hirono are together introducing the All Students Count Act, legislation designed to promote equitableaccess to education. The Act's primary objective is to enhance the inclusivity of student data collections, ensuring that they comprehensively represent the diverse experiences of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander children, thus facilitating a more accurate assessment of educational needs and disparities within these communities.

The Department of Education has made notable strides in disaggregating and enhancing data related to K-12 student achievement among major racial and ethnic groups, including designations such as "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander." However, the current data collection and reporting procedures do not mandate the specific collection of data on Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander ethnic subgroups. This results in the oversimplification of the data, as it lumps together numerous distinct ethnic groups, each with its unique histories and varying degrees of access to social and economic opportunities, into broad and less informative categories.

“As someone who came to this country alone, at 16, with nothing in my pockets – I deeply understand the unique challenges in the US education system that immigrant communities face and persist for generations after,” said Congresswoman Jayapal. “Our students deserve visibility at all levels. By ensuring that the Department of Education, state education agencies, and school districts collect and report data for a minimum of 15 Asian American and six Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander subgroups, we can work to close the education gap in our communities.”

The All Students Count Act introduces crucial measures to enhance data collection and reporting in the education sector. It mandates the U.S. Department of Education, state education agencies, and school districts to collect and report data in a disaggregated manner, ensuring representation of a minimum of 15 Asian American subgroups and 6 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander subgroups. Additionally, the Act instructs the Institute of Education Sciences to evaluate statistical methods aimed at optimizing reporting for these specific ethnic groups.


 

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