Dual-language programs may reduce school segregation, study finds
Two-way dual language immersion programs — which bring native English speakers and students who speak another language at home together in the same classroom — may modestly reduce school segregation, according to a new study led by a Penn State College of Education researcher. In a large-scale…
Penn State professor named among most influential in shaping education - 2026
Erica Frankenberg, professor of education (educational leadership) and demography at Penn State and director of the Center for Education and Civil Rights, was recently named to the 2026 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings list of top 200 U.S.-based university scholars who influence education…
Big cuts at the Education Department’s civil rights office will affect vulnerable students for years to come
By Erica Frankenberg, Penn State, and Maithreyi Gopalan, University of Oregon, for The Conversation The U.S. Department of Education cut its workforce by nearly 50% on March 11, 2025, when it laid off about 1,315 employees. The move follows several recent directives targeting the Cabinet-level…
Research collaboration launches civil rights in education initiative
A new civil rights in education initiative, called AdvancED Equity, that focuses on advancing research to inform policy related to civil rights protections in the field of education, was recently established with contributions from Penn State. Funded in part by Penn State’s Social Science Research…