In recent years, some U.S. school districts have shifted away from direct management of schools, toward systems in which some or all schools operate under enhanced autonomy, accountability, and parental choice. Yet dynamics driving these changes are understudied, and there are few comparative studies of system-level governance shifts. To address these gaps, we use extensive qualitative data to analyze change in Los Angeles, Denver, and New Orleans. Drawing on evolutionary theories, we find that external crises, state policy, and new actors triggered change, yet distinct contexts and change processes resulted in markedly different systems. Finally, in all three cities, concerns that emerging systems exacerbated long-standing inequities indicate that governance change is both an organizational and highly contentious political process.

近年来，美国的某些学区已经从学校的直接管理转变为一些或所有学校在增强的自主权，责任心和父母选择下运作的系统。然而，驱动这些变化的动力尚未得到充分研究，而且很少有关于系统级治理转变的比较研究。为了解决这些差距，我们使用大量的定性数据来分析洛杉矶，丹佛和新奥尔良的变化。根据进化论，我们发现外部危机，国家政策和新的参与者触发了变化，但是不同的环境和变化过程导致了明显不同的系统。最后，在所有三个城市中，对新兴系统加剧长期存在的不平等现象的担忧表明，治理变革既是组织性的，也是具有高度争议性的政治过程。