Abstract
The Indiana Department of Education awards a STEM School Certification (IDOE, 2024) to schools that exhibit priorities for integrated STEM education. Currently over one hundred schools in Indiana have received this certification, including many that represent communities of color and under-resourced communities. While the STEM certification process has thus far been representational for low-income and Black students (Duarte, 2025), many disparities and deficits remain in closing opportunity gaps for students of color in STEM in the state of Indiana. This research brief, utilizing BlackCrit theory in education, analyzes Indiana’s STEM School Certification process for addressing the systemic barriers that under-represented students in Indiana face. It also provides recommendations for improving the process and next steps for the author in this project.
Document Type
Brief
DOI
10.5703/1288284318505
Recommended Citation
Heinold, Steve, "Document Analysis: Indiana DOE STEM School Certification Process through a Liberatory Lens" (2026). Indiana STEM Education Conference. 6.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/instemed/2026/briefs/6
Included in
Document Analysis: Indiana DOE STEM School Certification Process through a Liberatory Lens
The Indiana Department of Education awards a STEM School Certification (IDOE, 2024) to schools that exhibit priorities for integrated STEM education. Currently over one hundred schools in Indiana have received this certification, including many that represent communities of color and under-resourced communities. While the STEM certification process has thus far been representational for low-income and Black students (Duarte, 2025), many disparities and deficits remain in closing opportunity gaps for students of color in STEM in the state of Indiana. This research brief, utilizing BlackCrit theory in education, analyzes Indiana’s STEM School Certification process for addressing the systemic barriers that under-represented students in Indiana face. It also provides recommendations for improving the process and next steps for the author in this project.