THE ETHICIST TAP : SCHOOL & PARENTS [ Q ]

MY children attend a public elementary school in one of the largest school systems in the United States.

The school is notably diverse ; more than 40 percent of the students are low-income, and nearly 10 percent live in temporary housing, while a sizable minority come from upper income brackets and live in million-dollar homes.

The school has a mix of Latino, Black, Asian and white students. Some parents did not graduate from  high-school, while others have Ph.D.s, J.D.s or M.D.s.

There is a tendency for some parents - most of whom are affluent and highly educated - to request that their children be placed with the ''best'' teacher each year.

In some cases, these parents have threatened to leave the school if their children are not given their preferred teacher, and it is widely agreed upon by these parents who the best teachers are.

These requests are against school policy, but the administration acquiesces because it is in the school's interest to retain these wealthier and better - educated families.

This is done to bolster the school's reputation, and because these parents contribute time and money to the Parent Teacher Association.

I find it unethical both for these parents to make such demands and for the schools to honor them.

When a certain set of parents choose their children's teachers each year, children whose families do not make such requests often get placed with the less preferred teachers, creating inequity.

This also skews class assignments and unnecessarily complicates the jigsaw puzzle that teachers and school administrators navigate each year when creating classes.

Is this behavior on the part of parents and school administrators justified. [ Name Withheld ]