While I agree that it's introduced some problems in states where I've lived (Utah, for example), it's also allowed parents to move their children around a bit more easily, and there are some benefits to that.
On the flip side, I'm now in Georgia. We live on the boundary between a poor school district (98% "minority" district-wide) and a rich one (10-50% "minority" depending on the school). I can only "shop" for schools in my poorer district, which are typically around the bottom quintile of schools in the state. The kicker is, because of the geographic boundaries, the bus stop for the "richer" district stops on either side of our subdivision, and our kids pass withing 1 mile of five different elementary schools in the "rich" district on their way to their assigned "poor" one. Shop for schools? I'd love to. I'd even like for my kids to go to a school close to their home. But a long history of bussing (which in our area has reinforced segregation rather than combat it) and civil rights policies perversely means it's more difficult to move to the better schools.
While I agree that it's introduced some problems in states where I've lived (Utah, for example), it's also allowed parents to move their children around a bit more easily, and there are some benefits to that.
On the flip side, I'm now in Georgia. We live on the boundary between a poor school district (98% "minority" district-wide) and a rich one (10-50% "minority" depending on the school). I can only "shop" for schools in my poorer district, which are typically around the bottom quintile of schools in the state. The kicker is, because of the geographic boundaries, the bus stop for the "richer" district stops on either side of our subdivision, and our kids pass withing 1 mile of five different elementary schools in the "rich" district on their way to their assigned "poor" one. Shop for schools? I'd love to. I'd even like for my kids to go to a school close to their home. But a long history of bussing (which in our area has reinforced segregation rather than combat it) and civil rights policies perversely means it's more difficult to move to the better schools.