Defending Against Challenges to Equity: The Role of State Education Agency Leaders

Across the United States, anti-equity politics are shaping education policies and decision making. While this anti-equity movement is well documented, less is known about strategies to defend against those challenges. We examined such strategies within a highly politicized area of education: multilingual learner (ML) policy and practice. Using critical policy analysis, we analyzed interview and meeting observation data collected over 5 years in a national research–practice partnership to examine 26 state education agency leaders’ ML-focused work amid pervasive anti-equity politics. Findings revealed how state leaders used collaboration, research, and federal civil rights law as tools to protect ML education. Implications highlight the value of research–practice partnerships as spaces for sensemaking and evidence-based capacity building amid complex politics.