Building upon the Biden Administration’s historic advances to center racial equity across the federal government over the last 18 months, PolicyLink is pleased to announce the release of Scoring Federal Legislation for Equity, which outlines the definition, framework, and potential applications for equity scoring of federal policy. This report is the first product of The Equity Scoring Initiative – a partnership between PolicyLink and Urban Institute – which seeks to design a scoring system to measure the potential impact of federal legislation on equitable outcomes and help advance policies that improve racial, gender, and other dimensions of equity. 

The Equity Scoring Initiative is a cornerstone project of the PolicyLink Racial Equity Governing Agenda — building antiracist governments and institutions to realize a flourishing multiracial democracy. As we continue to design a nation that works for all using a racial equity consciousness, we hope that you will join us in building out the scoring initiative to equip legislators with the tools needed to systematically assess a bill’s potential benefits or consequences for racial, gender, and other forms of equity. In addition to the new legislative scoring initiative, we are also pursuing the following activities as part of the new Agenda.

• Equitable Implementation of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) — Establishing new alliances, backed by a robust research and implementation agenda, to ensure that ARPA and IIJA resources are deployed and used to support the 100 million people who live in or near poverty, further antiracist governing, and build thriving communities of opportunity.
   
• Racial Equity Governing Standards — Establishing landmark equity standards and guidelines into the design of federal programs to ensure that public resources maximize the public good. These standards will address 1) the structure of government, 2) policy and regulation formation, and 3) policy implementation. 
   
• Legal Strategies for Centering Race in Policy — Identifying legal pathways and developing tools to support leaders in centering racial equity in policy and program development.

We hope that you will join us to Win on Equity, ensuring all people in America — particularly those who face the burdens of structural racism — participate in a flourishing multiracial democracy, prosper in an equitable economy, and live in thriving communities of opportunity.