Divided by Choice: How Charter Schools Diminish Democracy
How race and capitalism shape education

School choice programs—such as vouchers, education savings accounts, and tax credit scholarships—are surrounded by controversy, raising questions about their impact on student diversity and inequality. In this book, Ryane McAuliffe Straus takes up a core part of this divisive debate, exploring why charter schools are reshaping America’s education system—and democracy—for the worse.

Drawing on interviews with elected officials, policy entrepreneurs, parents, and activists in Albany, NY, Straus argues that charter schools are a poor alternative to failing public schools, ultimately worsening racial segregation under the guise of providing underprivileged students with access to better education. Taking a wide-ranging view, the author explores why parents, elected officials, and community activists may or may not choose to leave the public education system by enrolling their children in charter schools.

Straus finds that when families of color leave public schools in favor of charter schools this removes their democratic voice and participation, diminishing their political power in a high-stakes area of public policy. Divided by Choice highlights the fundamental flaws of one solution to public education inequalities, at a time when racial tensions are at an all-time high.

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Divided by Choice: How Charter Schools Diminish Democracy
How race and capitalism shape education

School choice programs—such as vouchers, education savings accounts, and tax credit scholarships—are surrounded by controversy, raising questions about their impact on student diversity and inequality. In this book, Ryane McAuliffe Straus takes up a core part of this divisive debate, exploring why charter schools are reshaping America’s education system—and democracy—for the worse.

Drawing on interviews with elected officials, policy entrepreneurs, parents, and activists in Albany, NY, Straus argues that charter schools are a poor alternative to failing public schools, ultimately worsening racial segregation under the guise of providing underprivileged students with access to better education. Taking a wide-ranging view, the author explores why parents, elected officials, and community activists may or may not choose to leave the public education system by enrolling their children in charter schools.

Straus finds that when families of color leave public schools in favor of charter schools this removes their democratic voice and participation, diminishing their political power in a high-stakes area of public policy. Divided by Choice highlights the fundamental flaws of one solution to public education inequalities, at a time when racial tensions are at an all-time high.

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Divided by Choice: How Charter Schools Diminish Democracy

Divided by Choice: How Charter Schools Diminish Democracy

by Ryane McAuliffe Straus
Divided by Choice: How Charter Schools Diminish Democracy

Divided by Choice: How Charter Schools Diminish Democracy

by Ryane McAuliffe Straus

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Overview

How race and capitalism shape education

School choice programs—such as vouchers, education savings accounts, and tax credit scholarships—are surrounded by controversy, raising questions about their impact on student diversity and inequality. In this book, Ryane McAuliffe Straus takes up a core part of this divisive debate, exploring why charter schools are reshaping America’s education system—and democracy—for the worse.

Drawing on interviews with elected officials, policy entrepreneurs, parents, and activists in Albany, NY, Straus argues that charter schools are a poor alternative to failing public schools, ultimately worsening racial segregation under the guise of providing underprivileged students with access to better education. Taking a wide-ranging view, the author explores why parents, elected officials, and community activists may or may not choose to leave the public education system by enrolling their children in charter schools.

Straus finds that when families of color leave public schools in favor of charter schools this removes their democratic voice and participation, diminishing their political power in a high-stakes area of public policy. Divided by Choice highlights the fundamental flaws of one solution to public education inequalities, at a time when racial tensions are at an all-time high.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781479835843
Publisher: New York University Press
Publication date: 08/05/2025
Pages: 288
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Ryane McAuliffe Straus is an Empire State Fellow in New York. Previously, she was a Professor of Political Science at the College of Saint Rose.
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