Going Home? State Takeover Districts as a Method of Exacerbating Excessive School Removals for Black Girls

• In Event: 16.060 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 16.060-8 - The Politics of School Choice and Educational Opportunity

Abstract

Recent federal legislation aimed at educational equity encourages states to reconstitute school districts. The vast majority of districts taken over by states have been predominately minority. This paper assesses the role of state takeover districts in pursuing the reduction of the occurrence of harsh disciplinary practices used against Black girls. The key finding of this paper is that state takeover districts in Detroit, Memphis, and New Orleans increase, rather than decrease, the occurrence of harsh disciplinary practices as evaluated against the prevalence of harsh disciplinary practices used in the extant locally governed public schools.

Authors

• Monica L Ridgeway, Vanderbilt University - Peabody College

• Steven Leonice Nelson, The University of Memphis