Submit your proposal

The Southern Education Foundation is calling for proposals from practitioners, researchers, and other professionals to present papers or lead sessions at our upcoming 2023 Issues Forum, Miles to Go: Fulfilling the Promise of Racial Equity in Education, to be held from Nov. 14-17 in Charlotte, NC.

It has now been more than 50 years since Julius Chambers successfully argued Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, one of the last major, purposeful moves toward desegregation in the wake of the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision. While much has certainly changed in the field of education since these cases, far too many inequities, disparities, and gaps remain in students’ opportunity and outcomes. At SEF’s next Issues Forum, we will seek to investigate the current state of education in the United States through the voices of educators and those who study education with a particular focus on the experiences of students, families, and educators of color. We invite educators and other education professionals to submit proposals to share experiences, strategies, challenges, and knowledge around key contemporary issues in education—with an eye on where we have been and where we are headed.

General sessions
These are proposals for full 45-to-75 minute sessions covering topics in areas like education practice and policy. Key focus areas may include the practice of teaching and learning; effective approaches or programs that have resulted in improved student opportunity and/or outcomes; solutions to challenges met within the education system, particularly those that work toward racial equity; and collegial panels addressing different perspectives on major issues or topics in education today. Sessions that address current challenges and outstanding questions that have not yet been solved or answered are also welcome.

We are placing a high priority on including the voices of practitioners, and strongly encourage teachers, counselors, principals, district leaders and staff, and the many others working within the education system to propose sessions on topics important to them and their work.

Research presentations
These presentations will highlight and explore high-quality education research and analysis. Proposals should be situated within the broader educational research conversation and should be focused on understanding structures, experiences, and outcomes in education in (or relevant to) the South, broadly defined. We will give particular priority to presentations focused on teaching and learning, education innovation, school governance, outcomes of school privatization laws and policies (such as voucher and tax credit programs) on public education, and school funding and educator pay and support. Accepted paper proposals will be clustered with other papers in themed sessions.

Interested practitioners, researchers, and other professionals should review the instructions before submitting their proposal below. We recommend filling out the information

Submissions received after the Friday, July 14 priority deadline may be considered, but review is not guaranteed.