In Texas, black students represent roughly 13% of the total student population but have the highest dropout rates, are most likely to be referred to special education programs and have the lowest scores on standardized tests across grades in all subjects. Half of all black students with an EBD (Emotional and Behavioral Disorder) diagnosis drop out of school before graduation, and 73% of those students are arrested within three to five years.
Education is the civil rights movement of our time. The Texas Constitution says that suitable provision must be made “for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.” With student outcomes like the ones above, however, our black students desperately need reforms to the current system.
The Booker T. Washington Initiative is committed to securing for parents the rights and freedom to choose the educational options that are best suited for their children. We work with districts and schools of all types to help increase students’ access to instruction and opportunities that will help them succeed in the classroom and beyond it. BTWI’s goal is to close the academic achievement gap while shutting off the school to prison pipeline.