Education
Overview
Data about student achievement has the power to reveal—and to conceal. Schools and policymakers often lump Southeast Asian American students together with all other Asian American students, whose overall educational outcomes are much higher than average. But aggregating the data renders Southeast Asian American students’ experiences invisible.
In fact, our students face multiple barriers and challenges in school: language barriers, insufficient support for parent engagement, gaps in mental health treatment, race-based bullying and harassment, and socio-economic barriers that prevent students from accessing and completing higher education. Only 14% of Laotian, 17% of Hmong and Cambodian, and 27% of Vietnamese Americans have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 54% of Asian Americans overall. In California and across the country, SEAA students face cultural invisibility, lack culturally relevant support, and experience intergenerational educational challenges that create marginalization in schools and further educational disparities.
SEARAC’s education policy work pushes for better data on SEAA student needs and outcomes. We also advocate for the rights of English learner students and their families, school engagement of our immigrant and refugee parents, college access for low-income students, community-tailored programs, and civil rights protections for students. SEARAC’s education policy work pushes for better data on SEAA student needs and outcomes as well as ethnic studies on our histories, challenges, and resilience.
National policy news: READ MORE
California policy news: READ MORE
Key Resources
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Recommendations for Data Disaggregation Policy Advocacy and Implementation
As campaigns continue for data equity and visibility in our respective states and districts, our communities have identified challenges along the way as well as opportunities for improvement to advance advocacy and policy priorities. This document provides recommendations on advocating to policymakers on data disaggregation.
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Data Disaggregation General Factsheet
This fact sheet debunks myths related to data disaggregation and provides recommendations for federal policymakers.
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Data Disaggregation Versus Affirmative Action
This fact sheet examines the differences between data disaggregation and affirmative action, two policies that SEARAC supports.
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Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Webinar
Offers an overview of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the need for data disaggregation and targeted supports for English language learners, and strategies for engagement with stakeholders
- Data Disaggregation – Opportunities and Challenges
Information in this fact sheet comes primarily from SEARAC’s study of comments submitted to the Department of Education in 2012
- Moving Beyond the Asian Check Box
This SEARAC policy brief aims to demonstrate national demand for data disaggregation to address the academic achievement gaps that exist within Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities
- Overview of Southeast Asian Educational Challenges: Why Are Southeast Asian American Students Falling Behind?
Presents the obstacles that keep Southeast Asian American students from reaching their full potential in education achievement, and provides federal and local policy recommendations to remedy these issues.
- English Language Learners & Southeast Asian American Communities
Learn about the Southeast Asian American English language learner population, its challenges, and opportunities to raise visibility and provide support for this student population.
- Increase Access to Higher Education – Why Are Southeast Asians Not Going to College?
Learn about the challenges that contribute to low college attainment rates of Southeast Asian American students and policy solutions that can increase access to higher education for Southeast Asian American students.
Latest national education news
SEARAC Celebrates the Reintroduction of the All Students Count Act into the 118th Congress
SEARAC Celebrates President Biden’s Proclamation of Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) Week
SEARAC Joins Civil Rights Groups In Support of Race-Conscious Admissions
Student Loan Forgiveness Application Goes Live
SEARAC Celebrates the 15-Year Anniversary of the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) program
Latest CA education news
Budgetary and Legislative Wins and Hopes in California
Final Reminder: Protect and improve the California Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum
Asian American and Pacific Islander Youth Coalition in California Releases Findings on School Culture and Climate
Second Largest School District in the Country Takes Bold Steps to Disaggregate Data
SEARAC California Update