Proximity vs. equity: Policy actors’ decision-making on attendance zone boundaries in a suburban school district

Abstract

This study provides a qualitative analysis of how local policy actors in a predominantly White suburban school district engaged in collective decision-making regarding elementary school attendance boundaries. Given the long-standing neighborhood segregation caused by housing policies and practices since the city’s inception, Riverside policy actors faced two competing options: maintaining the neighborhood school concept or addressing equity issues arising from the imbalanced distribution of students by income and racial groups. Utilizing critical policy analysis (CPA) and critical geography perspectives, the study found that while some community members and members of the rezoning committee challenged race-neutral approaches that influenced the decision-making process, the majority of policy actors ignored the existing spatial segregation. Instead, they positioned their decision-making as neutral and prioritized bureaucratic rationality. The implications for policy actors and future research are discussed.