Black and Latino students lack access to certified teachers and advanced classes, data shows

WASHINGTON — America’s Black and Latino students are at a disadvantage in nearly every measure of educational opportunity, with less access to advanced classes, counselors and even certified teachers, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Education Department.

The findings reflect inequities that have lasting implications for students’ ability to learn effectively, go on to college and earn degrees.

“In America, talent and creativity can come from anywhere, but only if we provide equitable educational opportunities to students everywhere,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said.

The data was released as part of the Civil Rights Data Collection, a federal survey of nearly every public school in the nation. It was gathered during the 2020-2021 school year, when many schools remained at least partially closed for the Covid-19 pandemic.

America’s education system has long had deep educational disparities. Nearly seven decades after the Supreme Court ordered schools to desegregate, the new data offers a glimpse of basic differences that endure in schools serving predominantly Black and Latino students.

A growing body of evidence has tied instruction from certified teachers to better outcomes from students. But Black and Latino students are more likely to attend schools with lower percentages of certified teachers, according to the new data.

About 522,000 students, or about 1% of all students, went to schools where fewer than half the teachers met all state certification requirements. In those schools, 66% of students were Black or Latino.

There was a similar divide when it came to school counselors. Overall, 77% of public schools had at least one counselor, and 43% had at least one police officer or security guard.

But compared with their white peers, students of color were more likely to be in schools that had security staff but no counselor. Black students and those of more than one race were 1.2 times more likely to attend those schools, while…