The Contribution of Attendance Boundary Segregation to School District Segregation in Large U.S. School Districts

• In Event: Segregation, Gentrification, and Inequality in Public Schooling

Abstract

Recent research has highlighted the links between residential and school segregation and how each create mutually reinforcing mechanisms that exacerbate both forms of segregation. School boundaries can both deepen the effects of residential segregation in the school context when they are drawn in such a way that maximizes inequalities, and conversely they can mitigate the worst effects of residential segregation when drawn in an integrative manner. This study decomposes segregation within and between school attendance zones in the largest school districts in the U.S. in order to understand the role of attendance boundaries in contributing to school district racial segregation. I conduct this analysis for both the total population and the under-18 population to ascertain key differences.

Author

• Kendra Taylor, The Pennsylvania State University