Document Type

Report

Publication Date

9-28-2009

Series Title

Arkansas Education Report

Series Number

Volume 6, Issue 3

Keywords

Charter schools; Demographics; Pulaski County; Segregation; Public schools

Abstract

The aim of this report is to address the challenge by the Little Rock School District (LRSD) that open-enrollment charter schools in Pulaski County (PC) are impeding the efforts of the three PC school districts (Little Rock, North Little Rock (NLRSD), and Pulaski County Special (PCSSD)) to become racially integrated. A key motivation for this analysis is the ongoing debate about how expanded school choice, in this case charter schools, impacts racial segregation. Critics of charter schools argue that these schools lead to greater racial segregation, whereas proponents of charter schools suggest that there is no necessary link between racial segregation and the existence of charter schools. Indeed, some charter advocates contend that charters and parental choice can actually lead to more racial integration for students.

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