Tools, Compliance, and Best Practices
Facilities
Additional Resources
Investing Equitably in School Facilities
A NASBE (National Association of State Boards of Education) policy analysis exploring how states can use existing and new funding (including federal infrastructure monies) to target facility systems in schools with greatest need, such as HVAC, roofing, interior lighting, etc.
National Stats: State of Public School Facilities (NCES / School Pulse Panel)
Current NCES data providing snapshots of facility conditions such as the age of main instructional buildings, percent of schools operating in portable buildings, and the share of schools undergoing major renovation or modernization.
Learning-Ready Facilities (Alliance for Resource Equity / ERStrategies)
An interactive resource that defines “learning-ready facilities” as ones that are safe, structurally sound, properly equipped, and have environments that support learning; includes toolkits, guides, and questions districts can ask to assess disparities in facility resources across schools.
Facilities: Examining School Buildings and Resources
An EAC guide to reviewing school buildings, classrooms, and shared spaces to ensure students have comparable learning environments. Helps districts identify facility disparities and develop strategies that support desegregation compliance.
Equitable School Facilities (Center for Cities + Schools, UC Berkeley)
A policy research initiative that examines adequacy + equity in facility investment (capital, maintenance & operations) in California over time; shows how state facility funding continues to reflect property-wealth disparities and impacts facility quality.
Educational Facilities Planning Through an Equity Lens (Austin ISD & DLR Group)
Case study of Austin Independent School District where facilities planning and bond proposals were developed using community engagement, GIS/neighborhood data, and prioritizing schools that had historically received fewer investments.
Success Stories
Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD), Arkansas
After years of court oversight, PCSSD resolved major facility disparities between Mills University Studies High School and Robinson Middle School. The courts directed PCSSD to submit plans to ensure that building conditions and resources between the two schools were brought into alignment. This was one of the final requirements in achieving unitarily status.
LEGAL
Facilities: Key Considerations and Resources
The condition, location, and distribution of school buildings are central to meeting desegregation requirements. Facilities must be maintained and assigned in ways that avoid perpetuating segregation or inequities in access to quality learning environments. This section offers guidance, legal context, and tools to help districts evaluate and improve facilities so all students, regardless of background, learn in safe, modern, and equitable spaces that support progress toward unitary status.