The Education Trust–New York’s 2022 Equity Priorities

 

The Education Trust–New York is a statewide nonprofit education organization focused first and foremost on doing right by New York’s children from birth through college and into the workforce. We offer rich data, policy briefs, and various resources for policymakers and advocates who share our goal of improving educational opportunities for all students in New York.

This year, we’re focusing on critical equity issues from higher education attainment, students’ access to advanced coursework, high-quality, affordable child care, and improving FAFSA completion rates across the state — and we need your support!

Four Key Equity Issues:

Higher Education Attainment

Child Care

Access to Advanced Courses

FASFA Completion

Sign up for updates on our latest data and resources!

Higher Education Attainment

Child Care

Access to Advanced Courses

FASFA Completion

Sign up for updates on our latest data and resources!

Aiming Higher: How investing in postsecondary education attainment will put New York State on the path to a bright future

In the near future, 70% of jobs will require a postsecondary credential. Yet New York’s overall level of college attainment is not keeping up with the needs of our economy, and systemic attainment barriers prevent historically underserved groups of New Yorkers from attaining a higher education.

In the 2022 State of the State, Governor Hochul committed to supporting two thirds of all New Yorkers in earning a high-quality degree or credential by 2030. To ensure New York State has a high-skilled workforce that is representative of our population, we must invest in higher education resources and programs to meet this goal.

Learn more about this critical equity issue by exploring resources from the REACH NY network of organizations dedicated to a statewide postsecondary equity agenda.

White residents in New York are 2x more likely to hold a postsecondary degree than Black and Latinx residents.

Investing in Our Youngest New Yorkers 

The first three years of a child’s life are critical, a formative period that can lay the groundwork for the best possible outcomes throughout their lives. Yet New York is facing a crisis — child care workers are still some of the lowest-paid professionals, despite the critical nature of the work. And the lack of affordable, high-quality child care options throughout New York is forcing women — especially those who are Black and Latinx — to leave the workforce in numbers.

As New York sets on a path to economic recovery from the pandemic, it is critical that all families have equitable access to affordable, high-quality, safe, and culturally responsive child care that is supported by a universal, transparent quality rating and improvement system.

Learn more in these recommendations from Raising NY, a diverse statewide coalition of parent, early childhood, education, civil rights, business, and health organizations.

73% of New York parents are concerned about their child being educationally and socially prepared for pre-k/kindergarten.

Read our recommendations on how to support the infant and toddler workforce

Learn from parents’ experiences during the pandemic in our statewide poll

Read about the challenges New York City parents face in finding high-quality, affordable child care

Access to Advanced Coursework

Across New York State, Black, Latinx, and American Indian students and students from low-income backgrounds are denied access to advanced courses.

The reason is two-fold. Research from the New York Equity Coalition has continually found that many of these students attend schools that do not offer courses such as AP/IB courses, Physics, Calculus, and more. And even if schools do offer such courses, these students are often underenrolled in these advanced courses.

This legislative session, New York can improve educational equity by passing S.1111A/A.4407A. This bill would require districts to inform families early on about the benefits of enrolling in advanced classes and the supports available.

While 91% and 49% of Asian and White students were enrolled in AP/IB courses during the 2019-2020 school year statewide, only 36% of Black students and 35% of Latinx students were enrolled.

FASFA Completion

Research shows that 90% of high school seniors who complete the FAFSA go to college immediately after graduation compared to just 55% of seniors who do not complete the FAFSA. However, in New York, not all students are filling out the FAFSA, and the statewide completion rate continues to lag behind pre-pandemic levels, particularly at schools that serve the largest shares of students from low-income backgrounds.

The FAFSA can open doors to higher education and all forms of financial aid help for students. Legislation under consideration — S5409/A361 — would require students to complete the FAFSA as a graduation requirement, with the option to waive the requirement.

Statewide, the FAFSA completion rate at the end of February was down 5 percentage points since the end of February 2020, before the pandemic forced school closures.

Contact Us

Want to connect and learn more about our work and priorities for this year? Drop us a line!