About NCSD
WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE DO
NCSD leads federal advocacy for school integration and supports its members in designing, enacting, implementing, and uplifting K-12 public school integration policies and practices.
The National Coalition on School Diversity (NCSD) is national network supporting a diverse group of constituents to advocate for and create experiences, practices, models, and policies that promote school diversity/integration and reduce racial and economic isolation in PK-12 education. Our work is guided by a vision of an inclusive, multiracial society that maintains itself through just social structures. The words of Justice Thurgood Marshall, “Unless our children begin to learn together, there is little hope that our people will ever begin to live together,” are a popular mantra among our coalition members.
NCSD is supported and staffed by the Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC), a civil rights and policy organization based in Washington, DC.
The coalition engages in research, public education, and advocacy to help expand support for government policies that promote school diversity and reduce racial and socioeconomic isolation.
Membership is free and open to national, regional, state, and local organizations that are working to support racial and economic integration in public schools. Our members include both organizations and leading education researchers and advocates.
While building a national community and achieving significant policy successes, NCSD has become a strong coalition that provides members a place to act on their commitment to integration from a legal, policy, and research perspective.
Vision
America’s public education system is the centerpiece of a diverse, interconnected, and just democracy that is free from individual, institutional, and structural racism. The education system is inclusive of the individual and collective histories, perspectives, and voices of the communities it serves. This system values, supports, and equips all young people with the resources and skills they need to thrive. Our policies and social structures reflect a deep, unwavering commitment to our young people, our communities, and our democracy.
Mission
At NCSD, we challenge common assumptions that segregation in our nation’s communities and schools is natural, harmless, or inevitable. NCSD supports brave, bold, visionary changemakers and bridgebuilders as they tackle the root causes of educational inequity and injustice. Our members work to design, enact, implement, and uplift K-12 public school integration policies and practices so we may build cross-race/cross-class relationships, share power and resources, and co-create new realities.
Values
School diversity is the cornerstone to building a more inclusive society; transforming the structure of our democracy; attacking the roots of racial hierarchy; and learning how to share power and resources more equitably.
1954: Brown v Board of Education of Topeka
NCSD’s work builds upon the legacy of school desegregation and anti-racism efforts that precede the founding of the coalition, including the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education.
2007: Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1
At the turn of the century, the debate around the role of racial diversity in elementary and secondary public education focused on two districts that had adopted voluntary student assignment plans that prioritized racial integration (Seattle, Washington and Louisville, Kentucky). The Supreme Court's Parents Involved (PICS) decision placed some limits on how public schools can assign individual students to schools; but, importantly, a majority of the Court also recognized diversity in elementary and secondary education as a compelling state interest.
2006-2009: PICS Amicus Campaign and Post-Decision Outreach
A broad amicus campaign led by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, followed by significant post-PICS outreach work that focused on ensuring the decision was properly understood, helped lay the foundation for our coalition.
2009: NCSD is Founded by Nine Civil Rights Organizations
Through hosting its first national conference, “Reaffirming the Role of School Integration in K-12 Public Education Policy: A Conversation Among Policymakers, Advocates, and Educators” at Howard University School of Law in November 2009, the National Coalition on School Diversity was born.
2010: NCSD Set its First Goals
NCSD’s first goals are established in March 2010. Its initial task was the removal of Bush Administration’s PICS guidance for school districts, which advocates felt grossly mischaracterized the Court’s holding and erroneously advised districts that there was nothing they could do to voluntarily promote racial integration.
2011: Post-PICS Guidance is Re-Issued
In 2011, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice re-issue guidance addressing this issue. Their joint guidance recognized the importance and continued viability of voluntary efforts to achieve diversity and avoid racial isolation in elementary and secondary schools.
2012: NCSD is Officially Staffed
The Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC)—one of NCSD’s nine founding member organizations—assumes the role of fiscal sponsor of the coalition. Initial staff included an outreach coordinator in addition to a law and policy fellow.
2016: The NCSD Update Becomes a Monthly Newsletter
NCSD’s monthly newsletter, which started in 2011 and became a monthly product in 2016, quickly becomes the field’s go-to source for school integration news.
2018: PICS Guidance is Withdrawn
The Trump Administration rescinds 24 guidance documents, including the 2011 PICS guidance. Although the Trump Administration attempted to erase much of NCSD's collective progress, local school integration movements continued to gain traction and support for school integration steadily grew throughout the halls of Congress.
2020: Strength in Diversity Act Passes the U.S. House
This growing federal support for school integration led to the bipartisan passage of the Strength in Diversity Act in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2639/S.1418). Support for this bill continues to grow.
2023: Launch of Fostering Diverse Schools Demonstration Grants Program
A Congressional directive leads the U.S. Department of Education to establish the Fostering Diverse Schools Demonstration Grants Program (FDS), providing support for 14 locally-led school integration planning and implementation projects (and another 2 in 2024).
2024: 70th Anniversary of Brown v. Board
NCSD participates in a number of Brown v. Board anniversary events, including co-hosting an event on May 2 with The Bridges Collaborative at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
2024: NCSD Celebrates 15 Years
NCSD celebrates 15 years of impact with an anniversary celebration and appreciation event for PRRAC’s outgoing Executive Director Phil Tegeler, who has served as NCSD’s policy counsel and was one of NCSD's founding members.
2025: #NCSD2025 - 5th National Conference on School Diversity
NCSD hosts its 5th national conference—the largest cross-sector school integration convening in the nation. This convening provides space for researchers, advocates, policymakers, educators, students, parents, and other supporters to coalesce around a shared commitment to integrated education.
Present Day: NCSD’s Important Work Continues!
We’ve published dozens of policy briefs, research briefs, and other publications; spearheaded over 60 advocacy letters and press releases; hosted numerous events—Hill briefings, thought leader convenings, student performances, webinars, and more, including 4 national conferences and 1 virtual conference; and we’ve grown from nine founding members to over 80 member organizations and individual members, consistently showing up for members and partners in big and small ways by serving as a connector, collaborator, and advisor.
Our History
NCSD's Core Functions
We provide field-wide opportunities for relationship-building, learning exchange, and innovation.
We build the visibility of the movement and its impact through messaging and storytelling.
We provide federal policy leadership by monitoring, influencing, and protecting policy that supports school diversity.
We highlight and tailor support to state and local integration efforts.