Implementing the Dream: Lessons from the Houston Community College

With a commitment to affordable, open access education, community colleges provide a key access point to higher education, especially for low-income students and students of color. Using a qualitative approach, this report analyzes the experiences of six Houston area community colleges that are participating in Achieving the Dream, a national initiative designed to use data-driven decision-making to promote student success

A Racial Impact Analysis of HB 936: Accessibility of Electronic Textbooks

The economic and social consequences of the lack of access to technology for students in the Commonwealth of Virginia are real and significant. This report provides a legislative racial impact analysis of House Bill (HB) 936, a proposed bill in the Virginia General Assembly, prohibiting school boards from making electronic textbooks available for students, unless the school board adopts a plan to ensure that e-textbooks are available on or before July 1, 2017. The bill focuses solely on developing a plan for installing prior to implementing electronic textbooks in K-12 classrooms. Electronic textbooks are important as they offer updated content, ease of accessibility, multimedia features to enhance the learning experience, and the ability for educators to customize learning. Delegating this decision to each local school board in Virginia raises important potential racial implications, including the digital divide. Previous research suggests a correlation between the number of students receiving free and reduced lunch and the lack of availability of electronic textbooks. Districts with high rates of students on free and reduced lunch have a high population of minority students. This analysis provides maps that capture the trends on the probability of providing electronic textbooks for high minority areas across the state. The primary recommendation is to advance policy approaches that make electronic textbooks available to all K‐12 students in the Commonwealth of Virginia

A Racial Impact Analysis of HB 834/SB 449: The Virginia Growth & Opportunity Act

GO Virginia is an economic development initiative that seeks to preempt the harsh effects of federal budget cuts on Virginia’s economy, which is overly dependent on public-sector jobs. It promotes private sector job growth and workforce development through the use of state-based grants to invest in regionally significant capital projects that call for collaboration between localities, businesses, and education. It is important to be intentional in pursuing GO Virginia’s goals, otherwise this legislation may only allocate grants to institutions, organizations, and localities that already have sizeable resources. A critical question rests on how to ensure that low-income and minority communities can maximize the benefits of the legislation. The populations that are most affected by this legislation would depend on how the legislation is implemented. If minority communities are excluded from the process, then it is likely these communities would be insulated from the positive outcomes. It is imperative that minorities are adequately represented in the decision making process. This report explores why minority communities should be represented on the regional councils, which are the catalysts for the proposal process. By being proactive there is an opportunity to provide the same advantages to minority business development. We also explore how to strengthen the minority workforce to better compete for in-demand careers within the emerging industries that this legislation sets out to promote

Team Vision Focusing on the Future: Assessing Community Needs and Outreach

Faced with this challenge, Team Vision took a multi-pronged approach toward generating a solution. The first prong looked internally to delineate the scope of the problem, define community and community engagement, and understand VCU’s current commitment to community engagement. Next, looking external beyond the University, the team identified model institutions from which an approach for assessing community needs and determining appropriate projects could be garnered. Specifically, Team Vision, investigated Carnegie designated “Community Engaged Universities:” those institutions which have met stringent curricular and partnership criteria. The third step was to identify assessment tools and methods already in use at the University and in the City of Richmond. The final step was to come up with a series of recommendations that the University can implement. VCU’s definition of community, “Where the University has a sustained presence,” is based upon the Carnegie Foundation classification of “Community Engagement.” The Foundation term “Community Engagement” describes the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity1. VCU has demonstrated its commitment to maintaining this Carnegie Foundation classification through its multi-faceted approach toward community engagement. Of the 61 other institutions that also have this designation, Team Vision chose to investigate Portland State University, North Carolina State University, Michigan State University, Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and Elon University to investigate

A Racial Impact Analysis of HB 1075/SB 201

The economic and social consequences of untreated (or under-treated) substance abuse among minors are significant. This report provides a racial impact analysis of HB 1075/SB 201, legislation approved in the 2012 General Assembly session that seeks to improve access and use of substance and alcohol services by minors. In short, this policy could go a long way to ensure that families are properly educated about these life-changing (and life-saving) programs; however our analysis raises concerns related to cultural competency that may serve to undermine the legislation’s goal. Virginia is incredibly diverse and its communities vary widely with its assets and risks. In this vein, we offer concrete recommendations to maximize the policy’s racial equity. Our analysis also sheds light on the ongoing challenge Virginia’s state agencies have had to address cultural competency within its services. Additional research is necessary to determine what service gaps may exist, which would increase or decrease the racial equity impact. By answering these questions, Virginia will be better prepared to further reduce alcohol and substance abuse by all minors

Promotion, Education, and Marketing of an Expanded VCU Bike Share Program

We propose to help promote, market, and provide education about an expanded bike share program at VCU. The goal of the bike share program is three-fold: 1) improve travel between campuses, 2) encourage alternate transportation to reduce traffic and parking difficulties and 3) be a green initiative on the VCU campus. The expanded bike share program will include additional bikes and bike stations, managed by an outside company. Recently, VCU’s Office of Parking and Transportation has learned that they will be receiving funds for the program, and they are looking for assistance to promote, market, and provide education about the program. We will also explore additional aspects of a bike sharing program such as encouraging the use of helmets/safety issues, using technology to track bikes, and conducting a needs assessment to determine consumer demand and preferences

A Racial Impact Analysis of HB 994: Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking has become an international crisis that has caused a devastating impact on the Commonwealth of Virginia. The purpose of this report is to examine the racial equity impact of Virginia House Bill 944. HB 994 was introduced to the House by Delegate Barbara Comstock, along with 13 other members of the House and was passed by the House of Delegates and was Passed Indefinitely in Courts of Justice with letter in 2014. This Bill, as initially introduced, would have made it a felony to participate in Human Trafficking by expanding the definition of abduction/kidnapping. It also would have provided additional protection for minors by taking away the defense of consent. This report reviews the practices of Human Trafficking and provides an overview of how HB 944 being passed indefinitely harms minority communities

Establishment of Charter Schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Virginia is facing significant challenges related to public education such as decreased funding for public education, decreased teacher salaries, and overcrowded classrooms. Senate Joint Resolution 6 was a bill proposed in 2016 that sought to grant the Board of Education authority, subject to criteria and conditions prescribed by the General Assembly, to establish charter schools within the school divisions of the Commonwealth. There are racial implications related to the creation and authorization of charter schools and this report details those impacts and creates a set of recommendations to eliminate racial implementations when determining who authorizes charter schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia