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.

Washington, D.C.'s Voucher Program: Civil Rights Implications

This is 1 of 4 working papers presented on March 5, 2018 at Capitol Hill briefing, "Bringing Civil Rights Research to Bear on Voucher Programs: Are the Promises Realized?" The District of Columbia has the nation’s only school voucher program established and funded by the federal government. In thinking about the federal initiative in an arena that is a top priority of the Trump Administration it is well to assess this effort over the last 15 years. Clearly the advocates had very high hopes that it would be a major solution to the weak educational results for children in schools that were overwhelmingly poor and nonwhite. Unlike most of the voucher programs this one mandated evaluations, but the results of the evaluations the federal government has commissioned have been seriously disappointing. This paper examines the goals of the program, the hopes of its authors and supporters, and the skeptical predictions of its opponents, and what actually happened.

Private Schools in American Education: A Small Sector Still Lagging in Diversity

This is one of 4 working papers presented on March 5, 2018 in a briefing on Capitol Hill, "Bringing Civil Rights Research to Bear on Voucher Programs: Are the Promises Realized?" This report explores how the size and share of private education has changed in the U.S. over two decades, from 1995 to 2015-16 (the most recent federal data), along with how the students are divided among different kinds of private schools: secular, Catholic, and non-Catholic religious schools. It also examines the racial composition of these schools, providing key data for evaluating the civil rights dimension of private schooling and voucher policies.

Private School Vouchers: Legal Challenges and Civil Rights Protections

This is 1 of 4 working papers presented on March 5, 2018 at a briefing on Capitol Hill, "Bringing Civil Rights Research to Bear on Voucher Programs: Are the Promises Realized?" In this report, the authors detail the evolution of voucher policies, from their roots in the Jim Crow Era to their modern-day applications, including the rise of “neovoucher” programs; the past legal challenges to vouchers; factors that may influence the legal justifications of vouchers, including the quality of education for students of color in voucher programs; key policy issues that arise from this shift toward greater public funding of private schools; and conclude with a set of recommendations focused on civil rights protections.

Charters as a Driver of Resegregation

Building upon existing research that finds charter schools tend to be more segregated than traditional public schools, this report describes how charter schools also contribute to resegregation in traditional public schools. The authors explore the direct and indirect ways in which this occurs through a case study of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) in North Carolina.

New Jersey's Segregated Schools: Trends and Paths Forward

The report updates earlier research published by the Civil Rights Project in 2013. That report detailed troubling racial and economic segregation trends and patterns from 1989 – 2010. The latest report includes new data from 2010-2015. The research updates public school enrollment trends and details segregation in the state’s schools by race and income. It also includes information about segregation in private schools, examines student enrollment trends in charter schools and their potential to increase segregation, and includes new research on segregation in pre-k schools. A new analysis looks at the plight of students who are English Language Learners, finding many attend schools triply segregated by race, income and language.

Alternative Paths to Diversity: Exploring and Implementing Effective College Admissions Policies

This report explores the issues before the Supreme Court of race-conscious affirmative action for college admissions, the continuing responsibilities of universities, and introduces a series of new studies, most commissioned by a collaboration between the Civil Rights Project and ETS.

Tough Choices Facing Florida's Governments

Commissioned by the Leroy Collins Institute at Florida State University, the research examines enrollment trends and racial proportion changes in the states’ public and charter schools and charts segregation trends at the state level over time. In doing so, the report makes clear the trend toward the re-segregation of Florida schools and provides a context for Florida’s school segregation, including the impact of U.S. Supreme Court decisions and trends in school accountability and choice.