Beyond Black-White: The Intersection of Residential Segregation and School Choice Policy in School Segregation

• In Event: Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Inequality and the Racialization of Education

Abstract

In the 21st century, school segregation is a salient issue. Research suggests residential segregation or school choice drive school segregation. Affluent parents navigate their children into the highest quality schools available within a district and races self-segregate. Yet, a single perspective limits our understanding of school segregation. This study examined the impact of both residential segregation and school choice policy on the distribution of students within urban school districts. With continued segregation in schools, policy makers need to address the inequity between schools through policies related to funding, resources and teacher mobility. Further, this study finds that the drivers of segregation are likely more nuanced than a single perspective, but our measures of segregation cannot capture these nuances.

Author

• M Felicity Rogers-Chapman, Kulikuli Research