Educational Equity
School board members are responsible for the “equitable and quality education of every student in the school district” and must act accordingly in their collective work as a board of education to foster excellence for every student.
The Illinois Association of School Boards recognizes that everyone benefits when all students have access to the educational resources and rigor they need, in all times and circumstances.
In light of its mission and vision, IASB undertakes equity work to provide its members with resources to develop their competence and confidence in support of educational equity.
Illinois Association of School Boards Definition of Educational Equity
“Educational equity means that every student has access to the educational resources and rigor they need at the right moment in their education, and students’ needs are not going unmet due to race, ethnicity, dominant language, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion, family background, and/or family income.”
(Adapted in 2018 from the Council of Chief State School Officers and Kedda Williams/Opportunity Institute)
The resources below can assist school districts on their equity journeys.
- PRESS Materials relating to Equity
- Archived Webinars
- Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resources List
- IASB Workshop "Equity - An Educational Imperative"
Additional Reading
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The Reimagining School Board Leadership: Actions for Equity guide, published in February 2021, is a collaboration between NSBA’s Dismantling Institutional Racism in Education (DIRE) initiative and Center for Safe Schools that focuses on acknowledging and understanding current events and the historical issues of systemic racism in America. This resource establishes a drive for school boards to rise to these current challenges our school systems are facing to transform public education, with a focus on equitable access to a world-class education for every student.
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Teach Illinois/Strong Teachers, Strong; Classrooms: Policy Solutions To Alleviate Teacher Shortages In Illinois; Illinois State Board of Education, September 2018.
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Equity of Opportunity; U.S. Department of Education
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Leading for Equity: Opportunities for State Education Chiefs; Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), January 2018
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Restoring the Soul to Education: Equity Closes the Achievement Gap, (book) 2019
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resources
This list of resources is collected and compiled by the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, and has been provided by committee members and others, including Pat Savage-Williams and Tom Bertrand. The resources on this list will be updated frequently.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Resources List
Updated March 2024
Illinois School Board Journal articles:
- Transformative Equity, Now! (November/December 2023)
- Addressing and Avoiding DEI Sticker Shock (November/December 2023)
- Courageous Conversations series (starts November/December 2023)
- Ensuring Success for Newcomer Students (November/December 2023)
- Talking about equity: Why now, and is it board work? (March/April 2018)
- Why equity, and why racial equity? (March/April 2018)
- Q&A: Educational Equity (November/December 2019)
- Commentary: Why Equity Matters for All Students, Schools, and Communities (September/October 2020)
- What’s on the Table? Illinois Has a Teacher Diversity Shortage, Too (September/October 2020)
- Leadership Letter: The Journey Towards Equity (September/October 2020)
- Renewed for 2020: Ten ways school boards can champion racial equity (September/October 2020)
ICSA Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee