Breaking Down Barriers for African American Girls

The National Women's Law Center and the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund have released a report entitled Unlocking Opportunity for African American Girls: A Call to Action for Educational Equity. The report takes a comprehensive look at the barriers that African-American girls encounter in school—including overly punitive and disproportionate school disciplinary practices—and the educational and economic outcomes that result. It concludes with concrete recommendations to help advance African-American girls' educational opportunities and outcomes. This report is a result of a multi-year study and focuses on the barriers that limit the educational opportunities of many African-American girls as well as the impact of those barriers. The report outlines potential interventions to improve the lives of young African-American women and urges stakeholders, advocates, and community members to take action to improve this situation.

_{Cathy Krebs is the committee director of the ABA Section of Litigation's Children's Rights Committee in Washington, D.C.}

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