Choosing to Integrate Schools

35 Pages Posted: 9 Dec 2012

See all articles by Wendy Parker

Wendy Parker

Wake Forest University - School of Law

Date Written: December 7, 2012

Abstract

As we commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the St. Louis school desegregation litigation, a natural question is how current education reform efforts impact the status of and potential for school integration. This Article examines how the push for school choice impacts school desegregation in Missouri specifically and the United States generally. The evidence reveals that while our student population is becoming more diverse and the prevalence of all-white schools is diminishing, the pattern of high-poverty, high-minority, low-performing schools persists. Charter schools — the most common form of school choice — actually exacerbate the segregation of poor and minority school children. As a first step in rectifying the segregative impact of charter schools, this Article proposes that the federal government require more inclusionary practices by charter schools for states to receive federal funding for their charter schools. Otherwise, we once again allow current reform efforts to continue our history of segregated, unequal schooling.

Suggested Citation

Parker, Wendy, Choosing to Integrate Schools (December 7, 2012). Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, Vol. 34, No. 117, 2012, Wake Forest Univ. Legal Studies Paper No. 2186582, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2186582 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2186582

Wendy Parker (Contact Author)

Wake Forest University - School of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 7206
Winston-Salem, NC 27109
United States

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