The Neighborhood Ethnoracial and Socioeconomic Context of Public Elementary School Closures in U.S. Metropolitan Areas

• In Event: Spatial Stratification. Nefarious Intent: The Impact of Neighborhood Racial Change on Enrollment and Student Assignment

Abstract

Public school closures are increasing in number and size in U.S. cities. A central argument within the closure debate asserts that schools being closed are located in minority, socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Using data on over 260 U.S. metropolitan areas, we examine the relationship between the locations of traditional elementary public school closures between 2010 and 2016 and neighborhood ethnoracial and socioeconomic composition in 2010 and their change over time. Our overall results indicate that closures are associated with lower neighborhood percent White and percent Hispanic and higher percent Black and socioeconomic disadvantage. While increasing percent White is positively associated with closure, we found little other evidence of a relationship between closure and other changes in ethnoracial and socioeconomic composition.

Authors

• Noli Brazil, University of California, Davis

• Jennifer Candipan