A Tale of Two Systems: Choice and Equity in the District of Columbia's Charter Schools.

This article examines the impact of charter school reform on educational equity in the District of Columbia (DC), focusing on whether school choice policies have expanded access to higher-quality schools for historically marginalized communities. Using a sequential mixed-methods approach—including interviews with policymakers and spatial analysis of student residence and school attendance—the study finds that while charter schools have modestly improved academic settings for some marginalized students, persistent racial and socioeconomic segregation remains. The research highlights that equity is predominantly framed by stakeholders as uniform enrollment processes ("equity of process"), which overlooks structural inequalities related to race, place, and income, as well as transportation barriers and uneven school siting driven by market forces. The authors conclude that race-neutral, market-based charter policies have not substantially remedied inequitable access and call for more capability-oriented reforms that address systemic disparities and incorporate the lived experiences and preferences of marginalized families.