By Glenn Singleton—September 18, 2025
A Letter to the Educational Leaders of This Country
Greetings and gratitude as we begin another academic year of leadership, teaching, and supporting families shadowed by unprecedented scrutiny. My Nana Helen once told me, “Glenn, when you know better, do better.” Right now, we know better. And as educators, we are called to do better.
Across the country, equity and excellence for all students are under attack. Legislatures, courts, and administrators have suppressed conversations about race, ordering us to set aside the very tools essential for effectively teaching children of color. We are told that history, science, and lived experience are distractions—or worse, political inventions. But those who work with students and families every day know otherwise. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The time is always right to do right.”
Recognize and Resist Educational Malpractice
Educational malpractice occurs when schools fail to provide students—especially students of color—with the education they need and deserve. It shows up in three ways:
- Negligence: Falling short of standards or adequate support.
- Impact on Students: Lowered expectations, uneven achievement, harsher discipline.
- Cultural Competence: Biases that lead to miseducation and inequity.
If we comply with policies that erase the needs of marginalized students, we are engaging in malpractice.
Face the Evidence: Inequities We Cannot Ignore
Racial disparities are measurable and persistent:
- Black students are twice as likely as White peers to attend underfunded districts, and 3.5 times more likely to be in chronically underfunded ones.
- Latiné students face similar funding gaps.
- Nearly 70 years after Brown v. Board, segregation persists: 60% of Hispanic, 59% of Black, and 54% of Pacific Islander students attend schools where 75% of classmates share their race. White students are most likely to attend schools where fewer than 25% are students of color.
These inequities echo centuries of exclusion, from anti-literacy laws to today’s restrictions. Since 2021, 44 states have introduced bills limiting the teaching of race, with 18 enacting them. In 2023, the Supreme Court further dismantled race-conscious admissions. The struggle is far from over.
Reject Compliance, Commit to Justice
Rules that silence educators, cut budgets, or eliminate professional growth opportunities are systemic malpractice. Yet we know better, and because we know better, we can do better. We must resist the narrative that race is a distraction and affirm that equity is not political but essential. Every child deserves classrooms where they are seen, supported, and capable of greatness.
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