acase@tulane.edu / The social landscape of post-Katrina New Orleans continues to evolve. With increasing Latino presence, public schools must adapt to changing demographics. Latinos now represent 6% of the city’s youth population (Perry, 2016). During the 2015-2016 school year, seven schools in Orleans parish reported Latino enrollment greater than 15%; 30 out of 82 public schools that same year reported Latino enrollment greater than 5% (BESE, 2016). In neighboring Jefferson parish, one in four students is Latino (Dreilinger, 2016). In 2014, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) settled two landmark cases in Southeastern Louisiana related to civil rights abuses toward Latino English Language Learners (ELLs) and their Limited English Proficient (LEP) families. Despite a voluntary 2014 OCR resolution agreement settled by Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB), in New Orleans it remains to be seen how a decentralized school system will accommodate its own growing Latino immigrant population. This is particularly significant now (2017) as local public education undergoes a reunification process to centralize under one governing body: the OPSB. How will this school system ensure the provision of civil rights and equitable educational access to a linguistically isolated population within its district?
This dissertation examines Latino LEP parental involvement in decentralized New Orleans public schools. There is a positive correlation between parental participation in education and educational outcomes for Latino students (Sattin-Bajaj, 2014; Jeynes, 2016). Using lenses of cultural capital theory (Bourdieu, 1986; Lamont & Lareau, 1988), and democratic inclusion (Young, 2000), this research demonstrates how cultural capital – including language, and institutional compass – affects Latino LEP parental participation in education. The primary contribution of this work is an in-depth examination of language access as a concept, process, and civil right. By examining the application of federal civil rights (Title VI, Civil Rights Act 1964) and education law (Title III, ESSA, 2015) in New Orleans, this dissertation quantifies compliance, and qualifies examples of policies and practices that foster inclusivity and belonging within diverse learning communities. / 1 / Gwendolyn M. Murray
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TULANE/oai:http://digitallibrary.tulane.edu/:tulane_75439 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Contributors | Murray, Gwendolyn (author), (author), Huck, James (Thesis advisor), (Thesis advisor), School of Liberal Arts Latin American Studies (Degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Tulane University |
| Source Sets | Tulane University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | electronic, 261 |
| Rights | No embargo, Copyright is in accordance with U.S. Copyright law. |
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