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Whose Equal Opportunities? Color-Blind Ideology in Legislative Debates Over the Future of Detroit Public Schools
Mon, April 25, 8:00 to 9:30am PDT (8:00 to 9:30am PDT), Manchester Grand Hyatt, Floor: 2nd Floor, Seaport Tower, Balboa BCAbstract
How do legislators and policy advocates argue for specific policy proposals for a state-managed public district facing bankruptcy? How do the dominant discourses construct notions of equality and local control? Using critical discourse analysis and drawing from theories of colorblind ideology, this project analyzes the discourses adopted by stakeholders during the legislative hearings and debate over Michigan Public Acts 192-197 of 2016, the package of bills that would dismantle the Detroit Public Schools: (1) a liberal coalitional discourse using abstract liberal frames; (2) a free market opportunist discourse emphasizing individual economic choices; and (3) a voting rights discourse race-conscious frames around electoral participation. This project suggests possibilities for and challenges to using race-conscious discourse to advocate for equitable educational policies.