"Stealing School" and Suburban Citizenship

• In Event: Roundtable Session 53
  In Roundtable Session: School Choice Policies and Their Consequences

Abstract

This paper examines concerns about “stealing school” and suburban belonging. “Stealing school” is the process of falsifying residency to send a child to a more desirable school district. In 2011, Kellie Williams-Bolar received national attention after being jailed for 9 days for falsifying documents to send her daughters to a suburban school. Her case, and cases like it, make material the legal hazards of boundary crossing, but also signal social beliefs about inclusion, exclusion, and suburban citizenship. The paper draws from two sources for data: newspaper articles about 3 prominent “school stealing” cases and interview and observational data of a suburban Midwestern district. The paper sheds light on the racialized and gendered dimensions of boundary policing and their social impacts.

Author

• R. L'Heureux Lewis-McCoy, City College of New York - CUNY