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Equity audit to analyze disproportionality in special education, discipline and AP/gifted placements in Gwinnett
Summary
Professor Eddie Fergus and Education Resource Strategies described an equity audit combining surveys (first week of September), about 30 focus groups, document review and disparity analysis by race, income, language and disability; preliminary reports are expected by December with a final report in January–February.
Gwinnett County Public Schools on July 14 outlined a coordinated equity study and audit intended to identify patterns of disproportionality in special education, discipline and access to advanced coursework.
Dr. Eddie Fergus, who described himself as "the data guy, the numbers guy," told the board his team will conduct disparity analyses and implementation reviews focused on special education identification categories, discipline outcomes and access to gifted/AP/honors programs. "We're going to be doing surveys ... with the school district staff starting in the first week of September," Fergus said, adding that surveys would remain open about six weeks and that the team plans roughly 30 in‑person and virtual focus groups with parents, staff and community members to gather qualitative context.
Why it matters: Fergus and ERS will use both quantitative disparity analysis and qualitative focus groups to separate design from implementation — for example, whether Multi‑Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) exist on paper but show gaps in practice — and to track outcomes by race, free‑and‑reduced status, language status and disability. Early, continuing measurement is part of the plan: Fergus said he expects preliminary analyses by December and a final report to the district in January or February, and he recommended integrating disparity metrics into ongoing district dashboards to monitor progress.
Scope and coordination: Education Resource Strategies (ERS), represented by Dr. Angela King Smith, will run a complementary resource‑equity audit that examines the allocation and use of time, personnel and money across schools. ERS plans to analyze per‑pupil spending across high‑need and low‑need schools (including scenarios with and without Title funds), teacher assignment patterns and AP course scheduling and teacher assignments. The ERS audit and Fergus’s academic equity work are intended to be coordinated so that findings about who is in programs and how resources are distributed can be considered together.
Board concerns and methodology: Board members asked whether student voices would be included; Fergus said the transition team includes student representation and that student focus groups will be used where feasible. Members also questioned how the analysis would account for home and community factors; Fergus said focus groups and open survey questions will gather broader context while keeping individual privacy in mind, and he emphasized that the purpose is not blame but to produce actionable recommendations.
Next steps: Surveys are expected to launch in September, initial findings will be shared with the transition team, and both the ERS resource audit and Fergus’s disparity analyses will feed the strategic planning process under the superintendent’s timeline.
