A Critical Policy Analysis of the Politics and Implementation of School Desegregation

• In Event: 52.034 - Doing Critical Policy Analysis in Education

Abstract

School desegregation policies were initially created to provide equal educational opportunities for all students. While Brown v. Board of Education (1954) outlawed racial segregation in public schools, 60 years after the landmark moment we are witnessing the unfulfilled promise of the decision as schools are undergoing resegregation and racial and ethnic groups are becoming increasingly isolated and separated. Further, in contemporary legal and political environments that support race-neutral or colorblind approaches to addressing the continued racial disparities in education, school districts seeking to maintain racial integration face a new challenge of trying to generate methods of student assignment while not being race-conscious. In this paper, I examine three present-day school desegregation policies that use a number of factors in assigning students to schools to achieve diversity. Utilizing a critical policy analysis (CPA) framework, I pay particular attention to how the politics surrounding these policies (local, state, and federal) has an impact on their design, implementation, and ultimately, diversity outcomes. A CPA approach assists in illustrating the complexities behind the development of the policies, how and why decisions were made, and the (un)intended consequences of the policy implementation process.

Author

• Sarah Diem, University of Missouri