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We develop a model of a parole board contemplating whether to grant parole release to a prisoner who has finished serving his minimum sentence. The model implies a simple outcome test for racial prejudice that is based on the released inmate's rate of recidivism and is robust to the inframarginality problem. Our model has several testable implications for which we show empirical support. Applying our test to data on all prison releases in Pennsylvania between 1999 and 2003, we find no evidence of racial prejudice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, changes to the education policy landscape have made local public engagement more difficult. Among these changes are increased centralization of policy making, the rise of school choice, and mayoral and state takeovers of urban school districts. Philadelphia is at the vanguard of these changes. We discuss how community-based organizations in Philadelphia responded to the challenges of this new landscape by adapting their tactics and strategies. Adaptations include reconceptualizing targets, identifying new targets, retooling premises and strategies for building coalitions, cultivating new constituencies, entwining community education with community-based action, and making equity and community engagement central to the platforms of candidates for elective office. The study broadens our understanding of how organizations seek a voice in education decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]