This study analyzes school zoning policy in Indonesia as an instrument for promoting equitable access to education. Using a conceptual policy analysis and theory synthesis approach, the article examines the relationship between zoning regulation, spatial inequality, administrative practices, and educational opportunity. The data were drawn from national regulations on new student admission, empirical studies on Indonesian zoning policy, and comparative literature on school choice, opportunity hoarding, and mobility capacity. The analysis shows that zoning contributes to formal redistribution of student access, but it does not automatically resolve substantive inequalities in school quality, transportation capacity, information access, and institutional resources. In several contexts, zoning may also generate administrative exclusion through domicile-based eligibility, document verification, and alternative admission pathways that are more easily navigated by families with stronger social, cultural, and economic capital. The study proposes the concept of bounded access to explain how formally equal admission rules may still produce unequal educational outcomes. These findings imply that zoning reform should be accompanied by school quality equalization, transparent data governance, mobility support, and stronger administrative monitoring.
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