Exclusion by Design: American K–12 Parasitic Syndrome and the Racialized Economics of Teacher Tenure

• In Event: Analyzing Policy Through Critical Research Methods

Abstract

This paper introduces American K–12 Parasitic Syndrome (APS), a theoretical framework that exposes how U.S. education policies—especially tenure—systemically exploit and marginalize Black women educators. Grounded in Critical Race Theory and Racial Capitalism, APS theorizes education as a parasitic structure that extracts labor while offering minimal institutional support. Through historical analysis, post-Brown displacement data, and contemporary literature, the paper outlines five tenets of APS: parasitic labor extraction, racialized exploitation, policy-sanctioned harm, racialized capitalism, and psychosomatic impact. The study argues that tenure policies serve as tools of racialized gatekeeping and calls for equity audits, anti-racist criteria, and policy reforms that center educator sustainability and justice.

Author

• Jamela Joseph, Touro University