Miles To Go: The Road to Education Justice
Confronting the Past, Navigating the Present, and Shaping the Future of Education.
Registration is now open for the 2025 SEF Issues Forum, SEF’s signature convening on education justice in the South.
Join the Movement for Education Justice
The South has always been at the center of our nation’s struggle, and progress, toward educational opportunity. This fall, we invite you to join the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) and hundreds of education leaders, practitioners, policymakers, researchers, scholars and advocates in New Orleans for the 2025 Issues Forum: Miles to Go: The Road to Education Justice.
Together, we’ll reflect on our shared history, examine the systemic inequities still shaping schools today, and chart a bold, shared course for the future of public education.
Why Attend?
Whether you’re advancing education opportunity in a classroom, district office, statehouse, or research lab, the 2025 Issues Forum offers:
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Powerful Keynotes from leading voices in education justice and civil rights.
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Interactive Sessions that explore policy, practice, and place-based innovation.
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Space for Strategy to collaborate across sectors and regions.
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A Community of Change-makers working to expand opportunity and drive systems-level change.
This is more than a conference, it’s a call to action. And your voice belongs in the room.
Event Highlights
- Location: The historic and vibrant city of New Orleans
- Networking: Connect with peers, partners, and change-makers across the field
- Access to Ideas: Learn strategies and models driving meaningful change across the South
- Momentum: Join us as we build on the legacy of Brown and carry the work forward
- Kickoff Reception, Tuesday, November 4
The Tate, Etienne, Prevost (TEP) Center, New Orleans
The TEP (Tate, Etienne, and Prevost) Center is a renovated mixed-use facility housed in what used to be the historic McDonogh 19 Elementary School in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Once central to the New Orleans school desegregation crisis of the 1960s. - Issues Forum Sessions, November 5–6
New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District
What to Expect:
- Inspiring keynotes and panels from change-makers across the field
- Interactive sessions on policy, practice, and place
- Opportunities for connection, strategy, and storytelling
Secure your spot today and join us in shaping the future of public education in the South and beyond.
Early bird rates available through September 1, 2025.
Book Your Hotel Accommodations
New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District Hotel,
859 Convention Center Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70130
Located near the National World War II Museum.
With a stay at New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District, you’ll be centrally located in New Orleans, steps from Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and within a 10-minute walk of Caesars New Orleans Casino.
This luxury hotel is 0.6 mi (0.9 km) from The Shops at Canal Place and 0.6 mi (1 km) from Canal Street.
Submit a Proposal or Paper
The conference session proposal period closed on August 1. If you submitted a session proposal, you will be notified by email during early September.
Sneak Peak: Session Details
Take a look at the sessions and the agenda for the forum. More session details and speakers to be announced!
Who Should Attend?
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Early learning, K–12 and higher education leaders
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Policy advocates and government officials
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Civil rights and social justice organizations
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Education researchers and faculty
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Philanthropic leaders and funders
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Community-based organizations
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Corporate partners
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Members of the public committed to the future of education
Let’s confront the past, navigate the present, and shape a future where every student has access to a high-quality education. Join us.
Stay Connected
Join our mailing list to receive event updates, speaker announcements, and more.
Contact: development@southerneducation.org