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Abstract
In the 2020-2021 academic year, schools across the United States were forced to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic. Much research has explored how the relationship between schools and families interacts with equity, especially related to school choice. Less is known about what happens when schools exist remotely, requiring families to make new choices as they face unique constraints. In this paper, I examine how two school contexts, Chicago Public Schools in Illinois and Lafayette Public Schools in Mississippi, responded to COVID-19 through policies of remote-only learning and hybrid learning respectively. Using interviews conducted with 44 parents and teachers from both locations, I find that while COVID-19 challenges families, teachers, and students in new ways, the major obstacles these groups faced were based on pre-existing inequalities in society. I analyzed my interviews and observations with attention both to the choices schools provided and to what factors contributed to decisions made by parents and families. Here, I noticed that parents are engaging in opportunity hoarding; however, I suggest that opportunity hoarding exists in response to something I term “choice framing.” I find that schools creating and expanding choice contributed to the deepening of existing social inequalities. In light of these findings, I offer recommendations to education policy makers and school administrators. I hope these findings can help those in the education field understand how school policies can deepen inequalities beyond the physical school building.