Takeover as the Third Way: Antecedents and Consequences of State Takeover

• In Event: Oppression at the Intersection: State Takeover Legislation and the Hostile Takeover of an Afro-Latina/o District

Abstract

Education reform is the focus of many policymakers, and despite no data supporting it, the unilateral state takeover of public schools is a continued practice that each edition of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act—since the No Child Left Behind Act—supports. 85% of state takeovers have occurred in predominantly Black and Brown communities (Morel, 2018; Oluwole & Green, 2009). Reconstitutions, or state takeovers, raise concerns of educational and racial equity as they are an act of dispossessing Black and Brown communities of political voice and self-determination. Given that many state takeovers occur in urban, predominantly and Brown communities, scholars must focus on the legal consequences of state takeover as a method of education reform, and scholars must consider the impact of state takeover legislation, policies, and practices holistically, accounting for state takeovers’ outcome(s) on the surrounding community. Thus far, there is no comprehensive legal analysis of the legal and political antecedents and consequences of state takeover legislation, policies, and practices. This paper fills that void in the literature.

This paper begins with a comprehensive, systematic literature review of state takeover laws, policies, and practices. The comprehensive, systematic literature review revealed that states primarily take over public schools and school districts in only a few manners (Oluwole & Green, 2009; Welsh & Williams, 2018; Wong & Shen, 2003). The three most common forms of takeover result in a) a unilateral and complete restructuring of school governance structures and operations, b) shared decision-making in the development of new school governance structures and operations, or c) the takeover of some components of school governance structures and operations while keeping some components of the existing school governance structures and operations intact. Most recently, there has been a significant rise in aggressive, hostile seizures of public schools and school districts, specifically when and where such districts are located in predominantly (or increasingly) Black and Brown communities. These takeovers have resulted in the complete dismantling of school boards and the attenuation of Black and Brown political voice (Author, 2021; Morel, 2018).

Most recently, state takeover legislation and practices have resulted in a new pathway to the takeover of public schools and school districts: the third way (Schueler, 2019). With the shifting nature of takeover implementation and minimal literature on the 'third way', a deeper dig into the practices, discourses, and influences of this approach to state takeover is critical as scholars aim to overcome barriers that proliferate structural racism in education. The purpose of this research was to explore and examine legislation and policies that allow implementation and maintenance of state takeovers of school districts and investigate the influence of the newer third-way approach. Furthermore, this research examined the role of race, racism, and coded language within state takeover legislation as it applies to the current state takeover of Massachusetts's Lawrence Public School system. To accomplish these goals, the author employs a law and society research approach, relying on a combination of legal research techniques and social science research techniques, such as discourse analyses.

Author

• Aaren N. Cassidy, University of Memphis