Getting to School: Transportation Equity in School Choice

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Racial Equity in School Choice Processes (Table 36)

Abstract

This qualitative study examines student transportation in the context of an interdistrict school choice program responsible for getting students to and from school across a metropolitan region. We conducted a series of interviews with parents and caregivers participating in school choice to understand how they and their children experienced school transportation. Findings point to a range of burdens faced by families in the choice program. It appears urban families and students of color are enduring disparate sacrifices to attend a magnet or non-neighborhood traditional public school. Our findings add to the growing literature on transportation inequities within school choice.

Authors

• Casey D. Cobb, University of Connecticut

• Charles Wentzell, University of Connecticut

• Kelly Farrell, UConn