The Effects of Residential and School Segregation on Delinquency in the State of Florida

• In Event: Public Schools, Restorative Justice, and Delinquency

Abstract

In Brown vs. Board Of Education, the Supreme Court declared that segregation on the basis of race in public schools was unconstitutional, thus reversing the “separate but equal” doctrine established in Plessy vs. Ferguson. As the 60th anniversary of the Brown decision is observed this year, recent trends in school segregation suggest that the gains of school desegregation are being reversed, particularly in the South. Criminologists assert that segregation – in most cases, within the neighborhood context – is a key factor in explaining criminal behavior. It is, therefore, reasonable to expect that segregation within the school context should influence delinquent behavior, also. While existing research focusing on school segregation has been scant and has reported mixed findings, the current study endeavors to further investigate the relationship between school segregation and delinquency using multilevel modeling. Specifically, this research will explore 1) the direct relationship between school segregation and delinquency and 2) the possibility that this direct relationship is moderated by key criminological factors. Because resegregation has been more prominent in the South, the data analyzed here come from the state of Florida. This study advances prior research by taking into account not only black and white students but also Hispanic students.

Author

• Cresean Hughes, Florida State University