The Relationship Between School Attendance Zone Boundary Changes and Racial Segregation in the D.C. Metro

• In Event: Gentrification, Segregation, and Potentials for Disruption

Abstract

The school-aged population in the U.S. is becoming increasingly ethnoracially diverse, but many schools remain segregated, raising important questions about the educational boundaries that sort students among public schools. In most districts, attendance zone boundaries (AZBs) assign students to schools based on residence. These critical, locally determined boundaries shape large portions of metropolitan segregation and determine students’ access to educational opportunities. However, due to a previous lack of centralized data sources, there is limited knowledge to date about patterns and effects of AZB change over time. In this paper, I use novel, longitudinal AZB data to study the relationship between elementary school AZB changes in 24 Washington, D.C.-area school districts and patterns of racial segregation between 2000 and 2020.

Author

• Sarah Asson, Education Northwest