1. The school has well publicized explicit and coherent policies that seek to ensure that all students and school staff do not experience discrimination based on ethnicity, race, language or social class.
It seems rather straightforward that schools should have explicit policies that represent a schoolwide commitment to prohibit discrimination of any kind. Indeed, anti-discrimination policies might be phrased in ways that reflect positive, proactive commitments. But many schools do not have such policies, and, even when the policies exist, they may not be widely known or prominently displayed. One might ask, for example, how often the school's anti-discrimination policies are discussed by staff and students and whether they play any role in shaping the actions of teachers, students and administrators. Most school districts have such policies but unless the district's schools have elaborated on and publicized these policies it is unlikely that they will be of consequence in shaping educator and student behavior.
The way school-level policy is developed is important. The entire school staff, as well as students, should be involved to ensure that issues that could be misunderstood or overlooked are identified and to build buy-in to acting on the policies that are adopted. Families should also have a chance to review and comment on the policy. As Gillborn (2008) warns, adopting policies can be seen as an end in itself—evidence that everyone has the right intentions. He recommends that the policy be revisited annually and progress be measured against specific benchmarks. Establishing such benchmarks may be a test of how well the school community understands the implications of the policy and whether participants are, in fact, committed to attaining its goals.
A book that could be helpful in shaping school policy is: Lindsey, R.B, Roberts, L.M. & Campbell Jones, F. (2005). The culturally proficient school: An implementation guide manual for school leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
