The Color of Displacement: Examining the Causes and Consequences of Urban School Closures

• In Event: Issues of Segregation and Disproportionality: Examining Patterns, Explanations, and Consequences

Abstract

Over the past decade, the mass closure of urban schools has affected the educational experiences of hundreds of thousands of public schoolchildren. In this study, we provide initial evidence on the racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disproportionality of closures and their effects on the socio-demographic contexts in which students attend school. Using longitudinal data on all 161 large urban school districts, we find that school closures are systematically associated with school racial/ethnic composition, even more so than socioeconomic factors, and have a particularly adverse impact on black students. However, school closures are associated with decreases in within-district segregation, as students in closed schools are generally reassigned to more racially/ethnically diverse schools. Future research will extend these preliminary findings using longitudinal, student-level data.

Authors

• Meredith Paige Richards, Southern Methodist University

• Kori James Stroub, The University of Texas - Austin