“In approaching this problem, we cannot turn the clock back… We must consider public education in the light of its full development and its present place in American life throughout the Nation.”
Those words were written by the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education (1954) ruling about the impossibility of changing the past and the need to address the problem of school segregation at that very moment. America’s public education stakeholders must consider this sentiment today as segregation has not only failed to be eradicated, but has increased over the past few decades to the point that schools are as segregated today as they were in the 1970s.
Segregation ensures division, while integration can lead to significant increases in school resources that produce higher outcomes–particularly for students of color. Additionally, research shows that school integration causes positive, permanent changes in mindset that can improve social cohesion and the health of our democracy.
Researchers Ann Owens and Sean Reardon have estimated racial/ethnic and economic segregation across every school in the U.S. at the Segregation Tracking Project. Using the most recent data from the 2023-24 school year, they have ranked the states by their degree of racial segregation (segregation between white students and minoritized students (Black, Hispanic, and Native American students)) and economic segregation (segregation between students who qualify for Free and Reduced Priced Lunch—a measure of poverty—and those who don’t.)
They also have included a measure that explains what percentage of total racial/ethnic or economic segregation occurs between school districts (as opposed to within districts). Nevada, for example, has high economic segregation relative to the rest of the country, and that is due almost entirely to segregation between schools in one school district. Therefore, segregation between schools in the same district drives segregation. In contrast, New Jersey has both high racial and economic segregation, and the vast majority of school segregation—95 and 92 percent respectively—is due to segregation between districts; entire districts are segregated. Compared to the rest of the country New Jersey has high between district segregation. Policies that rethink these district lines, like moving to county-wide districts or allowing students and resources to shift between them, have shown the ability to lessen between district segregation.
Complete charts of state rankings bt economic and racial segregation are available here:
https://www.brownspromise.org/statesofsegregation
Exposing students to concentrated poverty is uniquely harmful. It is very hard to teach and learn in a classroom where almost all students are from low income households, and, therefore are more likely to have unmet health needs or be over-exposed to trauma. District leaders cannot deconcentrate poverty, however, if nearly every student in the district is low-income. In some states—especially those with hundreds of tiny school districts—there are many high-poverty districts located directly next to much wealthier districts. This sort of district-wide "poverty packing" is a uniquely harmful problem that requires state action to address.
These are the five states with the dubious distinction of having the highest level of between district economic segregation in the country:
New Jersey
Massachusetts
Connecticut
Illinois
Ohio
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