Socioeconomic status (SES) has been widely used as a determining factor to explain educational processes and outcomes such as mathematics academic achievement. Research has documented the links between SES and mathematics academic achievement. However, further understanding the complex relationship between contextual factors, such as policy, and its implications for these processes within an ideologically patriarchal society is paramount. After decades of United States school policy and reform-with the most recent focus on Common Core Standards-there continue to be inconsistent notions of what the ''real'' issues are and how to address those issues. This paper sets out to explore one specific case-House Bill 2281 (HB 2281) and, in effect, the banning of the Mexican-American Studies program in one school district in the US-in understanding the implications of policy in the shaping of the public education system. Implications for mathematics education research are explored.

These criteria included: qualitative empirical design studies with evident theoretical framing, methods, data sources, and interpretations; focus on HB 2281 in relation to any specific aspect of the MAS program; and found in a reputable source. This resulted in eight interpretive studies.The online version of the original article can be found under