{"id":11187,"date":"2014-05-22T17:03:49","date_gmt":"2014-05-22T21:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/cssp\/?p=11187"},"modified":"2014-05-22T17:03:49","modified_gmt":"2014-05-22T21:03:49","slug":"watching-public-school-choice-in-connecticut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/cssp\/2014\/05\/22\/watching-public-school-choice-in-connecticut\/","title":{"rendered":"Watching Public School Choice in Connecticut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Saturday, May 17, 2014, was the 60th Anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education court decision that struck down de jure<\/em> school segregation. That same day, Mira Debs, Prof. Jack Dougherty, and I gave a presentation entitled, “Who Chooses Magnet Schools? Findings from Three Studies in Hartford, CT.”<\/p>\n

So what’s the connection between Brown v. Board of Education and magnet schools in Hartford?<\/p>\n

First, public school choice programs (such as charter and interdistrict magnet schools) in Connecticut are all required by Connecticut law to provide children with an equal educational opportunity and<\/em> to reduce racial, ethnic, and economic isolation of students (except technical schools). The exact goals and rules vary by program.<\/p>\n

Second, interdistrict magnet schools in Hartford and its suburbs are one of the ways that the State of Connecticut chose to comply with the Sheff v. O’Neill<\/a> decision, a local court case on public education and racial\/ethnic segregation.<\/p>\n

As the first presenter, I shared some findings from my “Choice Watch” <\/a>report that I co-wrote with Kenny Feder <\/a>for Connecticut Voices for Children<\/a>. I also provided a short overview of school choice programs here in CT.<\/p>\n\n\n