Social Justice, School Choice, and Inclusive Education

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Mapping the Contexts of Disability Studies

Abstract

Charter schools and inclusive education both have their history rooted in social justice. This work examines these two movements in tandem in order to gain a better understanding of special education in the neoliberal environment. This critical ethnographic case study took place over the course of one school year in a small, urban charter school which served students in grades 9–12 in a working-class neighborhood. Despite the social justice positioning inherent in both charter schools and inclusive education, the school was unable to escape unequal access for poor disabled students of color in the following ways: lack of choice in choice settings, incompatibility of neoliberalism and inclusion, and the continued segregation of poor, disabled students of color.

Author

• Sylvia Mac, University of La Verne