Discrimination in Elite Public Schools

School choice is an increasingly important part of today’s educational landscape and this timely volume presents fresh research about the competitive admissions policies of choice systems. Based on their investigation of a unique civil rights challenge to school choice admissions policies in politically and racially divided Buffalo, New York, and the struggle to open its best schools to students of color, authors Orfield and Ayscue contend that without intentional effort, choice systems are likely to exacerbate problems of inequality and segregation. Focusing on issues that will continue to be contested in the courts and in the policy arena, the authors offer research-based recommendations for reducing barriers to enrollment and for creating competitive-admissions choice systems that will allow all students access to important educational opportunities. The book outlines specific steps school systems can take, including developing a district-wide diversity plan, providing more accessible information, conducting holistic admissions processes, expanding the availability of choices, and offering preparation programs to assist students long excluded from these highly competitive schools.

Contributors: Natasha Amlani, Jongyeon Ee, Genevieve Siegel-Hawley, Jenna Tomasello, Brian Woodward

“This important book ought to inspire a national debate. I hope it will be widely read.”
—Jonathan Kozol, education activist and bestselling author

In the News: Buffalo Parents Slam School Distric’s Response to Civil Rights Complaint: “This time around, parents with the District Parent Coordinating Council say that the proposal does not go far enough in addressing their complaints or the recommendations that Orfield proposed earlier this year.”
—Excerpt from Education Week (10/1/15)