scholarly journals “The State Pulled a Fast One on Us”: A Critical Policy Analysis of State-Level Policies Affecting English Learners From District-Level Perspectives

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie Sampson
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
English Learners ◽  
State Level ◽  
District Level ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Critical Policy Analysis ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Critical Policy

States’ increasing involvement in educational policy making can play a significant role in how school districts provide equitable educational opportunities. Guided by critical policy analysis, the purpose of this article is to examine state-level policy pertaining to English learners (ELs) from district-level perspectives. Based on interview and archival data from a multiple case study of three metropolitan school districts in different states, district-level perspectives illustrate how these state-level policies were symbolic, restrictive, or exclusionary toward ELs. The results also demonstrate ways that districts advocated, engaged, resisted, and navigated state-level policies and politics. Based on these findings, I argue that state-level policies and related politics can compromise school districts’ ability to provide ELs with adequate educational opportunities.

scholarly journals Diversity for Whom? Gentrification, Demographic Change, and the Politics of School Integration

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Diem ◽  
Jennifer Jellison Holme ◽  
Wesley Edwards ◽  
Madeline Haynes ◽  
Eliza Epstein
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
Critical Policy Analysis ◽  
School Demographics ◽  
The Face ◽  
Critical Policy

Gentrification and the displacement of low-income residents of color from neighborhoods where they have long resided has accelerated over the last 20 years. In some cities, this process has begun to impact school demographics. Although research shows that school districts experiencing gentrification are responding in ways that fuel segregation and inequality, in some contexts gentrification is viewed by administrators as an opportunity to seek racial and economic integration. In our exploratory comparative case study, we examined districts in gentrifying cities pursuing integration in the face of rapid gentrification. Our critical policy analysis illustrates how district leaders’ diversity efforts can be overshadowed by their desire to appease and attract gentrifying families. Although districts are maintaining or increasing diversity in gentrifying contexts, our study raises broader equity questions that call for further inquiry of within-district equity and the displacement of students.

The Color of Neoliberal Reform: A Critical Race Policy Analysis of School District Takeovers in Michigan

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 424-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Wright ◽  
Ronald W. Whitaker ◽  
Muhammad Khalifa ◽  
Felecia Briscoe
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
The State ◽  
State Control ◽  
Critical Race ◽  
Critical Policy Analysis ◽  
Neoliberal Reform ◽  
Critical Case Study ◽  
Critical Policy

This critical case study analyzes Michigan’s implementation of Public Act 4 (PA4), also known as the emergency management (EM) takeover law. PA4 grants the state control of school districts with dire budgetary problems. As most U.S. school districts are citywide, PA4 gives the state direct control over all the (previously locally controlled) schools in Detroit. We use tenets from critical race theory (CRT) and components from critical policy analysis (CPA) and offer a critical race policy analysis (CRPA) to explore racial power and privilege enacted by PA4, imposed upon Detroit.

White Gazes of Black Detroit: Milliken v. Bradley I, Postcolonial Theory, and Persistent Inequalities

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Muhammad Khalifa ◽  
Ty-Ron M. O. Douglas ◽  
Terah Venzant Chambers
Keyword(s):  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
Court Case ◽  
Predominantly Black ◽  
Critical Policy Analysis ◽  
White American ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
Critical Policy

Background/Context This article employs critical policy analysis as it examines the historical underpinnings of racialized policy discrimination in Detroit. It considers histories, discourses, and oppressive structures as it seeks to understand how policies have been and currently are implemented by Whites in predominantly Black urban areas. Focus of Study As we seek to understand how policy is constructed in relationship to predominantly Black communities, we argue that White actions toward Detroit are based on deep-rooted and historical biases, stereotypes, and fears of Blacks. Research Design We used critical policy analysis around the famed Milliken v. Bradley (1974) Supreme Court case to explore 20th century White American behaviors and policy regarding Black urban spaces, specifically in Detroit. Data Collection and Analysis We pull from political, educational, and legal literature surrounding Milliken I and critically examine prior research and policies related to the case. Conclusions/Recommendations Our analysis suggests that Milliken had a long-term deleterious impact on Black students (and families) in the city of Detroit, including the resegregation of separate and inequitable schools and the (re)entrenchment of White fears and stereotypes about Black Detroiters.

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