Relational trust and the politics of evidence use: School boards navigate policymaking and equity during and after the pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines how school boards in New Jersey navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, which also coincided with the national trauma and reactions related to the George Floyd murder and subsequent backlash. The politicization of issues during that first year of the pandemic foreshadowed profound changes in the world of many school boards in New Jersey over the ensuing 3 years. These changes have dramatically affected relational trust in school districts and the use of evidence in educational policymaking.