School Choice and Parent Participation in School District Politics

• In Event: Interest Groups, Voting, and Participation in School District Politics

Abstract

Voting participation in local school elections is one key way for parents and guardians to be involved with their children’s education. Parent involvement is positively associated with better outcomes for students (Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Jeynes, 2003). Prior research has shown that higher levels of voter participation are positively associated with holding elected officials accountable for student achievement (Payson, 2017). Furthermore, an unrepresentative school board electorate is associated with larger racial achievement gaps (Kogan, Lavertu, & Peskowitz, 2021). These studies suggest that democratic accountability and parent engagement play a role in ensuring that the elected officials who govern local schools will maintain a strong focus on improving instruction and equitable outcomes for students. Yet local school elections are known for very low levels of turnout and engagement (Kogan, Lavertu, & Peskowitz, 2021).

Additionally, voter turnout may vary in important ways depending on participation in school choice programs. Prior research by Casalaspi (2019) shows that a one percent increase in school choice participation at the district level in Michigan (combining both school of choice and charter school enrollment) is associated with a one percent decrease in voter turnout for school bond elections. Our research will enable a deeper dive into this relationship, by directly examining parent/guardian voter turnout matched with the school enrollment selection for their children. With matched data, we can better understand whether school of choice policies are associated with parent/guardian participation in local school elections.

We will examine how school choice policies shape voter participation among parents and guardians of school aged children in school board elections and school bond elections. Michigan has two types of school choice policies that are relevant to our analysis. First, Michigan enables inter-district choice, which allows families to apply for their children to attend school in other public school districts outside of their district of residence. Second, Michigan has charter schools, which are also known as public school academies. Based on data from the 2017-18 school year, 14.3% of Michigan public school students were using inter-district choice and an additional 10% were enrolled in charter schools– for a total of 24% enrollment in choice programs statewide (Citizens Research Council of Michigan, 2020). In some parts of the state, such as the Detroit metropolitan region, the percent of families participating in school choice is much higher. Do parents who send their children to schools of choice or charter schools vote at lower rates than those who use their residentially assigned public school? Are there systematic differences in the types of parents who utilize schools of choice/charter schools and vote compared to those who do not vote?

By matching student level data from the tri-county metro Detroit region (Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb) to the Michigan voter file and leveraging variation across school districts within these three counties, we compare voter participation among parents/guardians of school children who participate in school choice programs (including inter-district choice and charters) and school children who attend school in their local district of residence. At the school district level, we will match election timing in the voter file to local school-related elections, including school bond elections (which often happen in odd-years) and school board elections (which must occur in even-years in Michigan). Using information contained in the student-level data file, our models include demographic characteristics of families, such as race/ethnicity and free/reduced lunch status. Overall, this analysis adds clarity and precision to our understanding of the representation of parents and guardians of public school children in the electorate and the impact of school choice program participation on voting among parents and guardians.

Authors

• Aliyah McIlwain, Michigan State University

• Antonia C. Gordon, Michigan State University

• Sarah E. Reckhow, Michigan State University