Magnet Schools Evolve Into School Choice Option

Education Week (5/2, Fleming) reports that magnet schools in large districts, historically used too "desegregate racially divided districts," have "been forced to evolve, given legal barriers that bar using race to determine school enrollment and increasing pressure to provide more public school choices. In a post-desegregation era, many large districts like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Baltimore County, have maintained high numbers of magnet schools, even amid the economic downturn, and others are using magnets as a strategy to meet new goals around improving school quality." The piece describes the evolution of magnets in recent decades, noting that "though the federal funding stream for magnets, the Magnet School Assistance Program, MSAP, has remained relatively consistent the past few years at around $100 million annually, and magnet schools were listed as a 'turnaround strategy' in the reauthorization bill for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the federal funding for charter schools is much higher."