This study examines parental decision-making in a Metro Detroit school district undergoing integration efforts, focusing on why families choose to stay or leave. The findings suggest notable racial disparities: Black families often left involuntarily due to misleading choice policies, while White families chose to leave, citing concerns about declining academic quality and a perceived lack of diversity—both of which reinforced anti-Black stereotypes in their decision-making. Although school choice policies aim to address inequities and improve education opportunities for all families, this study illuminates how choice policy can deepen racial inequities and reinforce race-based discrimination. These results highlight the critical need to examine how school choice policies impact families differently across racial lines and how these policies can inadvertently perpetuate systemic racism in schools.
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