Integration and Diversity

Research in this section explores the impacts and benefits of racial and ethnic diversity in education, as well as resegregation trends and remedies in our nation's public schools.

Diversity in the Distance: The Onset of Racial Change in Northern New England Schools

Northern New England, comprised of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, has the opportunity to plan carefully and intentionally so that the region is not plagued by problems of segregation and can instead benefit from the impending racial change and increased diversity to create and sustain diverse learning environments.

Brown at 60: Great Progress, a Long Retreat and an Uncertain Future

Marking the 60th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v Board of Education, the UCLA’s Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles assessed the nation's progress in addressing school segregation, and found that--contrary to many claims--the South has not gone back to the level of segregation before Brown. It has, however, lost all of the additional progress made after l967, but is still the least segregated region for black students. New statistics show a vast transformation of the nation’s school population since the civil rights era. The authors reveal that Latinos are significantly more segregated than blacks in suburban America.

Segregation Again: North Carolina’s Transition from Leading Desegregation Then to Accepting Segregation Now

This report investigates trends in school segregation in North Carolina over the last two decades by examining measures of concentration, exposure, and evenness by both race and class. After exploring the overall enrollment patterns and segregation trends at the state level, this report turns to three major metropolitan areas within the state—Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, Raleigh-Cary, and Greensboro-High Point—to analyze similar measures of segregation for each metropolitan area.

Segregating California’s Future: Inequality and its Alternative 60 Years after Brown v. Board of Education

Marking the 60th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v Board of Education, CRP researchers assessed California's progress in addressing school segregation, and found that California students are more racially segregated than ever. The authors conclude that California is the third worst state when it comes to school segregation for African Americans, behind New York and Illinois. California is, however, the state in which Latino students are most segregated.

New York State’s Extreme School Segregation: Inequality, Inaction and a Damaged Future

New York has the most segregated schools in the country: in 2009, black and Latino students in the state had the highest concentration in intensely-segregated public schools (less than 10% white enrollment), the lowest exposure to white students, and the most uneven distribution with white students across schools. Heavily impacting these state rankings is New York City, home to the largest and one of the most segregated public school systems in the nation.

SORTING OUT DEEPENING CONFUSION ON SEGREGATION TRENDS

In a new paper, researchers make two important claims about school segregation with which we disagree.  The first is that, "The changes in segregation in the last few decades are not large regardless of what measure is used." The second reads, "The mechanisms that would link segregation to disparate outcomes have not been spelled out clearly or tested explicitly." 

A Status Quo of Segregation: Racial and Economic Imbalance in New Jersey Schools, 1989-2010

This report is the fourth in a special series on school segregation in Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. New Jersey has a curious status regarding school desegregation. It has had the nation’s most venerable and strongest state law prohibiting racially segregated schooling and requiring racial balance in the schools whenever feasible. Yet, it simultaneously has had one of the worst records of racially imbalanced schools.