Big Give Early Giving: Sept 16-22
IDRA creates opportunities, relationships and pathways that enable such moments to grow into lasting change. Help us turn those moments into lasting opportunities! This Big Give week, we invite you to join this work through our Adopt a School campaign.
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Check out these opportunities to join our work!
- IDRA Staff Attorney PositionÂ
- Deputy Director of Advocacy & Community Partnerships Position
- Course-CreditâŊInternship
- Course-Credit Education Law Internship
News
Morgan Craven, J.D., Named IDRA Chief Strategy Officer
Chloe Latham Sikes, Ph.D., Named IDRAâs Director of Policy, Advocacy and Community Engagement
IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode #260
School discipline can change a studentâs future. Investigative reporter Erin Einhorn and IDRA attorney Makiah Lyons discuss student due process rights, disparities in state protections and what families face when students are suspended or expelled.
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News
IDRA is expanding its Digital Ambassadors program to San Antonio in partnership with Empower House and with support from GFiber. High school students will develop technology, research and leadership skills before providing hands-on technology training to adults in their communities.
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IDRA Newsletter
Inside
âĒ A Vision for Education in 2025 and Beyond (Excerpt) Educational Opportunities in a Changing Federal Landscape
âĒ Meeting the Moment â Movement Lawyering for Education Justice
âĒ A Vision for Education Justice in the South
âĒ Start Earlier, Keep It Real â What Grandparents Say Students Need from Schools to Reach College
âĒ IDRA Educator Externship Program Brings Tomorrowâs STEM Careers into Todayâs Classrooms â Teachers Explore Engineering, Cybersecurity, Advanced Manufacturing and More Through Industry Partnerships
IDRA Classnotes Podcast Episode 259
This episode showcases how IDRAâs STEM externship led to a community-centered classroom project. They discuss career-connected learning, project-based STEM instruction, industry partnerships, and helping students solve authentic community challenges.
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eNews
As students, families and educators get settled in this new school year, this alert is a reminder that public schools, by law, must serve all students. Available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Korean and Vietnamese.
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News
IDRA kicked off our fourth annual externship program in summer 2026, bringing together teachers and local industry partners for immersive workplace learning. By sharing their expertise and day-to-day work, industry professionals help educators connect classroom learning with real-world STEM careers. These career connections make learning more meaningful for students as they explore STEM degrees and careers, while giving teachers new ideas and tools to bring real-world STEM learning into their classrooms.
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Statement
On July 9, the Fifth Circuit upheld a federal district court ruling in USA v. Students, finding the Texas Dream Act unconstitutional.
âThe Texas Dream Act has long provided opportunity for Texas-raised undocumented students to access college and better contribute to the Texas workforce and economy,â said Celina Moreno, J.D., IDRA President and CEO. âYesterdayâs court ruling will make college unattainable for thousands of Texas Dreamers.
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Report
Federal and state restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion have created new barriers to college access for students across Texas, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds. IDRAâs two-year study provides an early look at how these policies are affecting high school studentsâ access to and success in college.
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Tools!
High school students need clear support to get to college, especially as changes to diversity policies created new challenges to an already confusing process for students and families. The resources in IDRAâs Community-Based College Access â Online Technical Assistance Toolkit provide practical tools schools can use now to help students transition to college. Informed by focus groups and roundtable conversations with students, families and school counselors, the toolkits help counselors and students navigate recent policy changes limiting diversity, equity and inclusion affecting college admissions.
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News
Forty-four years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. DoeâŊthat the right of undocumented students to attend public school is guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
During the early days of IDRA, we provided expert testimony and data in the lower court cases that were consolidated into the Plyler v. Doe case and have since helped schools protect the rights of immigrant students.
That historic ruling was critical to our democracy and the future of public schools we know and love today. Plyler guaranteed that undocumented students have the right to attend public school.
Report
Texas charter school districts continue to lose students at substantially higher rates than traditional public schools, according to an analysis by IDRA. While charter school districts served just 6% of Texas students in 2023-24, they accounted for 18% of students who dropped out of school.
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News
After reaching a historic low last year, the Texas high school attrition rate has increased, signaling a reversal in progress as high schools lose more than one in five students before graduation. The statewide attrition rate rose to 21% in 2024-25, up from 18% the previous year â the largest single-year increase in four decades of IDRAâs study.
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News
Nationally, Black girls are consistently the most over-disciplined compared to girls of all racial groups. Students in the Atlanta area describe how harsh discipline hurts Black girlsâ chances of future success in school and in life. These are among the findings of a youth-led research study supported by IDRA. IDRA just released the studentsâ report: âListen to Us â Black Girls Speak Out on Biased Discipline and Its Impact in Atlanta-Area Schools.â
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News
Four Brownsville ISD students received prizes in a competition among participants in IDRAâs newest in-school STEM program, IDRA Youth TechXperts, in which eighth-graders become technical support specialists for their schools. The students described how their experience changed how they see themselves and their futures in technology and leadership.
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News
Six students received prizes in a competition among participants in the IDRA VisionCoders program, a middle school computer science course developed by IDRA serving Title I middle schools in Bexar County. In this innovative course, middle school students who are in at-risk situations become software designers who create educational games for younger students (their âbuddiesâ).
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News
While cities across Texas strive to grow a college-educated workforce, growing restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts could hinder their plans for economic growth. These federal and state restrictions are unfolding against a backdrop of disparities in college access and success, according to a IDRA research brief.
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eNews
Every student deserves a learning environment that fosters growth and belonging, where they are safe and free from harm. But, such a learning environment is not possible if corporal punishment is allowable under the guise of âdiscipline.â
Twenty states still permit corporal punishment in schools, where 70,000 children have been hit during a single school year. Each year, we recognize International Day to End Corporal Punishment as a call to action for advocates, educators, students and community to come together to support the end of this outdated, violent practice.
news
Georgia increasingly passes the burden of education costs to local communities rather than closing gaps at the state level. The wealthiest districts can raise almost $5,000 more per student in local revenue than lower-wealth districts, according to a new report released by IDRA. Georgiaâs Quality Basic Education Formula Turns 40 â Closing the Gap or Passing the Buck? warns that property tax cut proposals being considered by the Geogia Assembly could deepen the gap between rich and poor school districts.
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IDRA released our newest model policy package to help schools and state leaders equip school counselors to enhance college and career guidance schoolwide. School counselors play a pivotal role in helping students navigate the structural and cultural barriers that shape college and career access. This role is especially critical for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds, who often lack access to the support and networks that make higher education attainable.
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News
A new investment from Greater Texas Foundation will open doors to college for students in the Rio Grande Valley through the new Kickstart College-Ready program. The initiative is a collaboration between IDRA and Region One Education Service Center (ESC) to help school districts ensure all students have access to dual credit, career certificates and associate degree pathways.
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Statement
IDRA, alongside the Texas Immigration Law Council and a broad coalition of business, faith, educator and student groups, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in U.S. v. Texas to do what Texas state leaders refused to do: defend the Texas Dream Act and the ability of Texas high school graduates to access and succeed in college, regardless of immigration status.
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eNews
IDRAâs model policy package provides policy language for states, school districts, and schools to adopt research-based student and family leadership and engagement strategies.
The package is a blueprint for transforming how schools relate to families and students, moving beyond surface-level communication to build real partnerships rooted in equity, trust and shared leadership.
Newsletter Special Edition
Through her vision and voice, Dr. MarÃa âCucaâ Robledo Montecel changed education forever.
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New Report
State legislatures across the U.S. South are acting on policies that significantly impact education equity. IDRA has released a new report outlining key legislative actions taken last year and previewing the current year.
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eNews
A multiracial, intergenerational coalition of advocates filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging a Texas appellate court to end a Houston-area school districtâs years-long practice of discriminating against Black students wearing racially and culturally significant hairstyles.
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eNews
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Phone: 210-444-1710
Fax: 210-444-1714
