Giving Compass' Take:

• Linda Jacobson explains that the “Start with Equity” report shows how leaders can improve equity for young children of color.

• Are you ready to step up to make changes in the education system? What can your role be in improving equity? 

• Read about what grantmaking for racial justice means. 

Harsh discipline like corporal punishment, separating preschoolers with disabilities from their peers, and too few high-quality programs for English and dual language learners are among the “structural inequities” holding back young children of color from a successful start in school, according to a new report released Tuesday.

And those disadvantages have only intensified as a result of the pandemic and the national protests over police violence, wrote the 15 contributors from 11 universities and organizations who authored the study.

“Our systems have created barriers that stack the deck against many children — and they have to climb over those barriers before they are out of diapers,” the report said, calling on national, state and local leaders to “seize this moment as an opportunity for positive change.”

Published by the Children’s Equity Project, based at Arizona State University, and the Bipartisan Policy Center, the “Start with Equity” report offers a policy agenda that includes a ban on punishments that exclude children from classrooms, more early-childhood mental health services, full funding for special education, incentives for including children with disabilities in regular classrooms, and assessment tools in multiple languages.

And it calls for government studies on questions related to the three central topics of discipline disparities, inclusion of students with special needs and services for young English learners.

“We don’t pretend to say that if you solve these three, then we’re good,” said Shantel Meek, the founding director of the Children’s Equity Project. She added that the report is meant to push leaders toward focusing on outcomes that can be measured. “Before George Floyd, we were talking about equity, but it was kind of ambiguous. Our whole approach is, let’s get it concrete and actionable.”

Read the full article about improving equity for young children of color by Linda Jacobson at The 74.