Written by Ashley Watts, Texas Racial Equity Collaborative (TREC) Doctoral Fellow and Briauna Derry, Associate Director of Media Activism.
In 2021, the Texas Racial Equity Collaborative (TREC) first gathered, united in their belief that working together could bring about positive social change. In the time since, they have researched, gathered talking points and even supported the passage of the CROWN act last session. Despite TREC’s progress, communities of color have continued to face systemic barriers in Texas, limiting their access to resources and fair treatment.
Recognizing the embedded intersectionality of racial equity work, they’ve committed to a three-pronged plan that addresses four focal areas: TREC members strive to educate, collaborate and advocate for more equitable practices within health, education, basic needs and fair justice. In recognition of this, the group has developed a three-part advocacy plan that targets four main areas: health, education, basic needs, and fair justice. After publishing their first-ever equity report, TREC and C@R embarked on a statewide tour to share findings and gather local perspectives to further inform this research. Below is a summary of what we learned, and a collection of recommendations agreed-upon by local advocates.
FOCUS AREA ONE | Public Pre K-Grade 3 in Austin
Early learning and kindergarten readiness are key for a child’s future success. However, children from marginalized communities often face barriers in accessing these critical resources. At the first stop of their tour, TREC members and local stakeholders dove into early learning and explored equity issues surrounding Austin’s education system. Most notably, experts emphasized the importance of centering cultural responsiveness within professional development while still allowing it to be open-ended and exploratory.
Research shows that cultural responsiveness is essential for effective education and early intervention. By supporting families of different cultures, schools can better help ESL, low-income, and at-risk students. Dr. Hamilton, CEO of the RISE Center for Liberation, stressed the importance of educators checking their biases, as unintentional racism happens far too often.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Increase access to high-quality pre-K and encourage innovative practices such as full-day funding and mixed-modalities.
2. Take additional, and considerable, measures to ensure all policies are preventative and comprehensive.
3. Ensure continuity between early learning and elementary-level programs, by increasing information and curriculum sharing between and expanding collaborative pathways.
4. Encourage play-based, hands-on learning that centers early development, as recommended by the National PN-3 Center.
5. Integrate culturally responsive engagement practices that truly center families, regardless of cultural similarities.
The stark reality is that access and quality are still an issue, as most preschool-age children residing in Texas are economically disadvantaged (84%) and over a third of preschoolers are emergent bilingual or English language learners, which can significantly increase their parents’ difficulty in finding or affording quality care. Overall, advocates expressed that additional investment is needed in early childhood education and implementing culturally relevant curricula is essential to leveling the playing field and ensuring that every child can thrive.
Carrie Hutchins, Speech Pathologist and PhD Student, University of Texas, reported that only 50% of students are ever properly identified for intervention services, due to an overwhelm in caseload and outdated, culturally ignorant, screening tools.
Addressing these challenges will require coordinated efforts to improve access, enhance family engagement and provide consistent, high-quality early education that bridges preschool and elementary years.
FOCUS AREA TWO | Disparities in Houston’s Discipline
School systems often exhibit zero tolerance policies that disproportionally impact Black and Latinx students at alarming rates. Sarah Beebe, Supervising Attorney at Disability Rights Texas, and other invited experts illustrated that the concern of disciplinary disproportionalities is truly a comprehensive issue that includes mental health, students with disabilities and juvenile justice. Research finds that excessive disciplinary practices not only hinder academic progress but also perpetuate cycles of inequity and injustice reported in the Texas criminal justice system.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Improve student-to-counselor ratios.
2. Revising biased disciplinary codes can help mitigate these disparities.
3. Increase transparency and expand comprehensive thinking as an aligned advocacy group.
Dr. Jamie Freeny (Mental Health America of Greater Houston, emphasized the importance of addressing the mental health crises by improving new-provider pathways and co-location of services so students without transportation can find services.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, disciplinary reports soured across the nation, forming from a toxic cocktail of deeply embedded discriminatory practices and a mental health fueled crises. Local voices were unanimous in the importance that, regardless of racial or ethnic affiliation, centering restorative practices and racial equity is essential, while also applying culturally responsive approaches to do so.
The group agreed that partnerships and collaboration were key to driving home the importance of community education and shared languages in school-communities. Natalia Fernandez, Education Equity Practitioner and Policy Expert, shared that within a “combination of best practices lies systemic efforts, [this can look like] creating systems of advocacy and [encouraging] parent involvement in coalitions.
Evette Hare, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Alief ISD, emphasized the need for readily accessible, shared data to inform decisions that are more inclusive for all students and families.
Collaborative efforts, transparent data sharing, and community partnerships are essential for driving systemic change. By centering racial equity, systemic change, and promoting best practices, we can ensure all students thrive academically and socially.
FOCUS AREA THREE | Basic Needs in Tarrant County
From healthcare and housing to economic opportunity and food security, communities of color disproportionately endure the most systemic injustices that limit their access to essential resources and services. During a visit to Fort Worth, community experts illustrated that racially marginalized Texans aren’t getting their most basic needs met at alarming rates.
The ALICE project through United Way (Tarrant County) highlights that working families are among the bulk of Texans who struggle for food, shelter, health and/or child care. Among the most concerning: A reported 1 in 8 Texans face inconsistent access to quality, nutritious food.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. To counter historic oppression, food insecurity and the related demands on food donation programs rely on equitable practices.
2. Community leaders must be prepared to collaborate while organizations recognize that they cannot provide every service. Partnerships should then be explored with those who can best service niche demographics.
3. Increase benefit amounts that were reduced in the later years of the pandemic to remove some of the many financially oppressive policies.
4. Heighten homeless prevention programs. Tarrant County explicitly holds the highest rate in North Texas, with 325 evictions per 1000 renters filed from January 2021 to May 2024.
This harsh reality becomes even more concerning for Black and Latinx communities when, despite the many eligible Texans (70%) fail to qualify for federal food benefits simply because of the administrative burden associated with applying.
Benaye Wadkins Chambers, CEO of Crossroads Community Services (CSS), commented “ A vast majority (74%) of food pantry clients are single mothers. Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, food insecurity programs like CSS have weathered significant shortages. When supplies decreased, organizations resorted to purchasing food just to meet the needs of their community.
FOCUS AREA FOUR | Maternal Health in El Paso
In El Paso, advocates shift their focus to peri and post-natal care. Black women in Texas, like many parts of the United States, experience shockingly high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity compared to their white counterparts. In 2018, 50% of Hispanic women and 56% percent of Black women suffered a pregnancy-related death. Texas Tour attendees and researchers alike agree: These disparities are driven by a complex interplay of factors ranging from systemic racism to inadequate healthcare access, and even biases within the healthcare system itself.
Panelists in El Paso identified a need for continuous and accessible care for post-partum mothers, cross-collaboration, intentionality in eliminating ‘silos’ between service providers, and over-communicating as integral action items for their community. With an aligned local effort, advocates convened taskforces aimed at highlighting the severity of implications involved with pregnancy, especially for Black and Latinx expecting mothers.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Expand maternal health initiatives to ensure continuity of care and take steps to eliminate implicit biases.
2. Advocate for legislative changes that increase telehealth access for expectant mothers.
3. Lift policies that limit nurse practitioners’ ability to serve as providers.
4. Over-educate communities in their dominant language using non-medical jargon.
5. Offer free pregnancy tests and extend postpartum care up to 12 months.
6. Utilize health information exchanges like PHIX to streamline patient care and information sharing.
This harsh reality becomes even more concerning for Black and Latinx communities when, despite the many eligible Texans (70%) fail to qualify for federal food benefits simply because of the administrative burden associated with applying. Benaye Wadkins Chambers, CEO of Crossroads Community Services (CSS), commented “ A vast majority (74%) of food pantry clients are single mothers.”
Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, food insecurity programs like CSS have weathered significant shortages. When supplies decreased, organizations resorted to purchasing food just to meet the needs of their community.