Parents Involved in Community Schools, Economic Segregation, and School District Capacity to Integrate

• In Event: Examining Intergovernmental Assumptions About School Integration

Abstract

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 altered public school districts' ability to promote racial diversity voluntarily. The decision, however, did not preclude school districts from employing race-neutral alternatives to achieving more diverse student populations. This paper investigates the relationship between income segregation and race in school districts populations. Examining the interconnectedness of race and income in school assignment policies, we test the Court’s assumption that school districts can achieve diversity through race-neutral, intra-district solutions. Using Census data for nearly 12,000 school districts, our preliminary findings indicate that economic isolation is most prominent in the most racially segregated areas, suggesting that premises underlying the Court’s analysis in Parents Involved are flawed.

Authors

• Douglas S. Reed, Georgetown University

• Andrea Mayer, Georgetown University