A Civil Rights Agenda for the Next Quarter Century - Developmental Education Reform as a Civil Rights Agenda

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

The report examines developmental education reform as a civil rights agenda, focusing on recent policy and practice in California’s community colleges. It situates California’s struggles within broader, long-standing and national efforts to reduce or eliminate developmental education as commonly known. The authors present the purpose and future direction of the work, emphasizing equity and racial justice, and acknowledge funding, reviewers, and contributors to advance evidence-based policymaking.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages46

Reading Time1 h 56 min

AccessFree to download

Suggested citation

About the Series

A Civil Rights Agenda for the Next Quarter Century

Acknowledgements

Foreword

This paper is dedicated to Tatiana Melguizo, a skilled and thoughtful scholar who brought compassion, methodological rigor, and an astute, critical perspective to her research on improving postsecondary outcomes. Tatiana was a wonderful collaborator, a caring mentor, and a true champion for college students from marginalized communities. Her sudden passing in January 2024 leaves a hole in our hearts and in the higher education research community. In her memory, we will continue the work to create a more just education system and we will endeavor to do so with her kindness, humor, and strength. -Susan Bickerstaff, report coauthor It is with heavy hearts that we release this report authored by Tatiana Melguizo and her colleague, Susan Bickerstaff. It was one of the last projects she undertook before her untimely passing, which was a great loss for the field and for those who knew her. As with all of Professor Melguizo’s body of work, this paper endeavors to move forward her vision of greater equity for those students so often left behind. It was our honor to work with Tatiana, and to count her not only as a valued colleague but as a friend. Her work will continue to live on through the many students and colleagues she influenced so deeply. -Patricia Gándara and Gary Orfield On behalf of the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles Suggested citation: Bickerstaff, S., Melguizo, T. (2024). Developmental Education Reform as a Civil Rights Agenda: Recent History and Future Directions for California. Los Angeles, CA: The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles, UCLA. © 2024 Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles, UCLA About the Series A Civil Rights Agenda for the Next Quarter Century The Civil Rights Project was founded in 1996 at Harvard University, during a period of increasingly conservative courts and political movements that were limiting, and sometimes reversing, major civil rights reforms. In 2007 the Project moved to UCLA. Its goal was – and still is – to bring together researchers, lawyers, civil rights advocates and governmental and educational leaders to create a new generation of civil rights research and communicate what is learned to those who could use it to address the problems of inequality and discrimination. Created a generation after the civil rights revolution of the 1960s, CRP’s vision was to produce new understandings of challenges and research-based evidence on solutions. The Project has always maintained a strong, central focus on equal education and racial change. We are celebrating our first quarter century by taking a serious look forward – not at the history of the issues, not at the debates over older policies, not at celebrating prior victories but atthe needs of the next quarter century. Since the work of civil rights advocates and leaders of color in recent decades has often been about defending threatened, existing rights, we need innovative thinking to address the challenges facing our rapidly changing society. Political leaders often see policy in short two-and four-year election cycles but we decided to look at the upcoming generation. Because researchers are uniquely qualified to think systematically, this series is an attempt to harness the skills of several disciplines, to think deeply about how our society has changed since the civil rights revolution and what the implications are for the future of racial justice. This effort includes two very large sets of newly commissioned work. This paper is the third in the series on the potential for social change and equity policies in California, a vast state whose astonishing diversity foretells the future of the U.S. and whose profound inequality warns that thereis much work to be done. The second set of studies is national in scope. All these studies will initially be issued as working papers. They will be brought together in statewide conferences in California and in the U.S. Capitol and, eventually,

FAQs

What is the report’s main focus regarding developmental education?

The report focuses on recent policy and practice in California community colleges related to developmental education and frames the topic as part of a civil rights agenda.

How does the report connect California’s situation to the wider national context?

It explains that California has not been alone, describing developmental education challenges as long-standing and nationwide, with states trying to reduce or eliminate it.

What does the series description say about the purpose of these reports?

The series aims to think systematically about society’s changes since the civil rights revolution and to support researchers, advocates, and policymakers with research-based evidence for future racial justice.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys