The Paradox of School "Choice" for Students With Disabilities in the New York City High School Application Process: An Analysis of Between-School Tracking

• In Event: Separate and Still Not Equal: Consequences of Between- and Within-School Tracking in the 21st Century

Abstract

This paper examines current school “choice” movements in New York City (NYC) and the manifestation as the high school application process that all public school students participate in. Students with disabilities also participate in applying for high schools, yet are tracked out of elite and competitive schools at considerably higher percentages than their non-disabled peers. Drawing from interview data with experts, administrators, teachers, and parents as well as observations of events about the high school application process, this presentation reveals how systemic procedures that are connected to neoliberal reform movements impact the system-wide tracking of students with disabilities in certain “elite” or “high-performing” schools while simultaneously requiring that non-competitive or “zoned” schools take in larger percentages of students with disabilities.

Author

• Jessica K. Bacon, Montclair State University