A Tale of Two Systems

Choice and Equity in the District of Columbia’s Charter Schools

Bibliographic Data

ID21581925
AuthorsAndrew Eisenlohr (0000-0001-6298-4007, University of the District of Columbia, Washington, USA, corresponding author), Kate E Kennedy (0000-0003-0245-3719, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA), Katrina E Bulkley (0000-0002-7157-2458, Montclair State University, Montclair, USA), Julie A Marsh (0000-0003-1781-9488, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA)
Year2024
Volume38
Issue6
Pages1346-1385
Publication date2024-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducational Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0895-9048 • E-ISSN: 1552-3896
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/08959048231198816
OpenAlexW4387059912
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited51

Advocates often predict that school choice policies will expand access to high-quality schools, particularly for marginalized communities. To interrogate this assumption, we employed a sequential mixed-methods analysis examining the state of charter reform in the District of Columbia. We observed that stakeholders consistently defined equity as uniform processes, evident in data distribution and enrollment practices. We also uncovered persistent disparities in where students live versus learn. We conclude that race-neutral conceptions of equity may hinder attempts to improve school access by ignoring structural inequalities tied to race, place, and income and by overlooking privileged households’ efforts to remain separate

Charter · Charter school · Demographic economics · Economics · Inequality · Pedagogy · Political science · Public economics · School choice · School district · Sociology · Gender Studies · Higher Education Research Studies · Law · Public Administration · School Choice and Performance · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

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