Segregation, Desegregation, Segregation: Charter School Options as a Return to Separate and Unequal Schools for Urban Families

ABSTRACT

The controversial glory of the Brown decisions and the retraction of court-ordered reforms represent the limited gains of racial justice in education and the protection of white privilege through law and policy. The return to segregation, as propagated through the rise of racially and economically segregated charter schools, exhibits the circuitous nature of law and education policy, represents a return to unequal schooling, and reveals the enduring and meaningful connections between race, law, and education. Using the lens of critical race theory, this paper focuses on law as an instrument of racial justice and oppression in education during the era of school desegregation and the inevitable return to separate and unequal schools for African American students through new education policies that promote the proliferation of charter schools in large urban school districts.

Author Bio

Dr. Thandeka K. Chapman is an associate professor in the Education Studies Department and the Director of the African American Studies Minor at the University of California San Diego. Dr. Chapman conducts research with teachers and students in urban and racially diverse settings to examine and resolve the ways in which institutional racism is manifested in school climate, curriculum, adult and student relationships, and school policies. In keeping with her social justice agenda for school reform, Dr. Chapman uses her research findings to assist districts, traditional schools, and charter schools in alleviating barriers to student learning and developing policies, teaching practices, and curricula that better serve the social and academic needs of all students.