Parent preferences and school segregation

Abstract

Schools in New York City are deeply segregated by both race and class. The confluent forces of residential segregation and family school preference have led to increasingly segregated schools since the 1980s. The New York City Department of Education (DOE) has taken steps to desegregate schools since a 2014 report by the UCLA Civil Rights Project named New York State the state with the most segregated schools. Though the DOE is doing more to address segregation than most districts, their efforts are still cautious, careful not to alienate the high status families it sees as necessary for racial and economic integration. Additionally, the Department of Education is working towards school 'diversity' but their policy fails to adequately address the closely linked issue of ongoing education inequality. This project explores how parent choice impacts school segregation, provides recommendations for how the DOE should address parent choice in its diversity policy and develops a framework for moving beyond desegregation to build deep and stable integration in city schools.