Educational Policy 2016, Vol. 30(1) 3–12 © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0895904815616488 epx.sagepub.com Editorial Educational Policy and the Cultural Politics of Race: Introduction to the Special Issue Michael J. Dumas 1 , Adrienne D. Dixson 2 , and Edwin Mayorga 3 Abstract In this introduction to the special issue, the editors argue that struggles over the meaning(s) of race inform and are informed by educational policy deliberation and implementation. Educational policy, then, contributes to the “common sense” about race. At the same time, educational policy reflects, and is an instantiation of, that “common sense.” The editors explain how the analyses offered in this special issue serve to expand what it means to do critical policy research, and more specifically, enhance our understanding of how race acts as a powerful force in determining educational opportunities, experiences, and outcomes. Keywords politics of education, power, racial/ethnic data, policy Most educational policy research engages the concept of race primarily in analyses of inequitable access to resources and studies of racially disproportionate school outcomes. Although important, few scholars who 1 University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA 2 University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, IL, USA 3 Swarthmore College, PA, USA Corresponding Author: Michael J. Dumas, Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, 5607 Tolman Hall, MC 1670, Berkeley, CA 94720-1670, USA. Email: michaeldumas@berkeley.edu 616488EPX XX X 10.1177/0895904815616488Educational PolicyDumas et al. research-article 2015