ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of school governance regimes, their characteristics, and their respective influence on education policy and reform at the school and district levels. It explores the impact of such various regimes on the daily professional lives of education professionals amid the restructuring of school districts and the evolution from “government” to “governance” in the education policy process. In 2017, donors to the Los Angeles Unified School District school board elections made it the most expensive school board race in US history. For instance, in many rural school districts an Administrative Regime may still be dominant, in part because, unlike urban settings in which there are many schooling choices, rural districts often only have a handful of schools. The chapter discusses the future of school districts and how a return to participatory democracy and shared governance is essential to protecting America’s schools and the public good.
