Race-neutral policies and elite high schools: Who are the beneficiaries?
Five of the best high schools in Illinois are part of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and are part of an elite category also known as Selective Enrollment High Schools (SEHS). In 2009, CPS was released from the consent decree that governed it for more than twenty-nine years. A race-conscious policy designed to promote equity of opportunity for Black and Brown students in Chicago’s magnet schools is now race neutral. A demographic that comprises less than 10% of the entire school district is disproportionately represented at the most elite schools in the state. The problem is clear: the majority of students served by the district are not represented at the most elite schools designed to benefit them. The purpose of this research is to analyze the Chicago Board of Education Admissions Policy for Magnet, Selective Enrollment and Other Options for Knowledge Schools and Programs and respond to the following research questions: What were the outcomes and consequences when Chicago Public Schools removed race from its admissions criteria and how did leaders make sense of the change in policy from a race conscious to a race-neutral criterion? It also aimed to determine which racial groups benefited and if any were treated unfairly as a result of the policy. I used quantitative and qualitative research methods for this research and my findings demonstrate the use of race neutral policies in admissions criteria for SEHS in Chicago has led to resegregation within the district and the continued disenfranchisement of Black and Brown students.
RACE-NEUTRAL, SELECTIVE ENROLLMENT, ELITE HIGH SCHOOLS, CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, CRITICAL RACE THEORY, INTEREST CONVERGENCE
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign