In the United States, the right to education resides in the states. Every state constitution affirmatively requires state legislatures to maintain and support a system of elementary and secondary schools open to all resident children. Although the language of these constitutional provisions varies, in all cases they mandate states, through their…

This brief examines school integration and school choice through the lens of school transportation. It first provides a brief history of the role transportation has played in integration and choice policies. It then dives into three examples of initiatives that combine choice and integration, and the challenges they pose for transportation,…

Race and class segregation have long governed patterns of residential sorting in the American metropolis. However, as urban neighborhoods across the country experience an influx of white and middle-class residents, they could alleviate the stark economic and racial segregation that is ubiquitous to urban neighborhoods and school systems. This…

The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI), launched in 2010, provides funds for public housing authorities and other local entities and aims to redevelop distressed housing projects and transform the neighborhoods surrounding them into "mixed-income, high opportunity communities." From its inception, the CNI has included a strong focus…

Since the Every Student Succeeds Act became law, states have taken advantage of opportunities to engage the arts more broadly in education policy -- from including the arts in STEM education to using the arts as a strategy to meet the needs of underserved youth. At the same time, many states' policy agendas address school choice, with ongoing…

We examine the views of low-income urban parents toward their neighborhood school. Policymakers must understand the attitudes of these individuals, particularly because they represent some of the most vulnerable groups in our education system. As national education policies have made it easier for parents to choose schools, attention has…

Sixty-five years after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, the federal and judicial role in school desegregation has declined. In a more difficult political and legal environment, it has fallen on school districts to develop and implement voluntary integration plans through diversity-minded student assignment…

School choice is a hotly debated issue in today's press, politics, and public discourse. In principle, the idea of families being able to choose the public school that is best for their children has widespread appeal. Interest in choice has been fueled in part by distinctive views about educational approaches and in part by the fact that…

Using a Critical Race Theory framework, this manuscript examines the scholarly literature on the intersection of tracking and its historical use as a method for establishing and maintaining racial segregation in American public schools. I begin by exploring accounts of tracking in American public educational institutions as researched by…

Students in racially and socioeconomically integrated schools experience academic, cognitive, and social benefits that are not available to students in racially isolated, high-poverty environments. As Americans consider the consequences of an education system that increasingly sorts students by race and class, it is also important to recognize the…

Background: Since the passage of "Brown v. Board of Education" in 1954, the demographic landscape of American schools has changed dramatically. By 2011, there were 12.4 million Latinos enrolled in prekindergarten to 12th-grade public schools, which constitutes 23.9% of the U.S. student population. A primary challenge that faces schools…

Bui, Craig, and Imberman assessed the impact of gifted and talented programs on student achievement using regression discontinuity and random assignment to gifted magnet schools. In both analyses, they found minimal impact of the gifted and talented programs on student achievement. This commentary addresses two concerns associated with the study.…

This report provides a summary of the district's gap analyses, Equity Self-Assessment Survey results, current research, and district action steps.

Giving parents and students the ability to choose their school is promoted by supporters as the key to improving American education overall. On the surface, the idea has great appeal. Who, after all, opposes having choices? Indeed, both Democratic and Republican policymakers, including President Trump, have embraced school choice as a reform…

This report examines current educational options for U.S. students and the challenges of ensuring that choices are equally available and offer high-quality education. The report suggests what state policymakers can do to create high-quality opportunities that offer each family a system of schools worth choosing. The analysis starts from the…