The Color of Neoliberal Reform: A Critical Race Policy Analysis of School District Takeovers in Michigan

Abstract

This critical case study analyzes Michigan’s implementation of Public Act 4 (PA4), also known as the emergency management (EM) takeover law. PA4 grants the state control of school districts with dire budgetary problems. As most U.S. school districts are citywide, PA4 gives the state direct control over all the (previously locally controlled) schools in Detroit. We use tenets from critical race theory (CRT) and components from critical policy analysis (CPA) and offer a critical race policy analysis (CRPA) to explore racial power and privilege enacted by PA4, imposed upon Detroit.