The Racialization of School Loss: How Charter Schools Amplify Disparities in Exposure to Closure, 1990–2019

• In Event: Sociology of Education Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 28. Racialization, Power, and Institutions

Abstract

School closures are increasing nationwide and impose documented harms on students and communities. Black students are disproportionately exposed to these losses. At the same time, charter expansion has reshaped public education: charters enroll a growing share of Black students and face elevated closure risk under accountability-driven market logics. Yet it remains unclear whether—and how—charter schools shape racialized exposure to school closure. Using school-level data from the National Longitudinal School Database (1991–2019), we document trends in school closure across sectors. Black students’ exposure rises most sharply over this period, and while charter enrollment increases closure risk for all students, we find that Black students’ disproportionate exposure is driven in large part by charter schools. This elevated risk operates not only compositionally—because charters close at higher rates overall—but also through two amplifying dynamics: (1) low academic performance, which already carries a steeper closure penalty in Black-serving schools, is even more strongly associated with closure in charters; and (2) Black enrollment is more strongly associated with closure risk in charters than in district schools. Together, our findings clarify key mechanisms through which charter expansion contributes to racial inequality in school loss.

Authors

• Maggie Wood, Washington University in St. Louis

• Jason F Jabbari, Washington University in St. Louis