Policies and Politics of the American School District: Past, Present, and Future

This chapter explores how the American school district sits at the intersection of key themes in public education, most notably democracy, governance, the larger political economy, and the interplay between efficiency and equity. First, the authors offer a brief accounting of basic district responsibilities and powers, examining how the school district can serve as a social structure that reflects and reinforces social and economic inequities. In the second section, the authors offer a historical overview of how districts have changed and been studied over time; they challenge some of the standard narratives and assumptions about district evolution. Third, the authors provide a critical examination of the political economy of school districts both from a global viewpoint and from the micro-perspective of the interactions of local school economies, racial politics, immigration, and economic shifts. Finally, the authors discuss the literature on the political dynamics of local decision-making, identifying factors that undermine districts’ democratic functions.

Keywords: school districts; democratic education; local control; policy; politics