Implications of Income-Based School Assignment Policies for Racial School Segregation

A number of public school districts in the United States have adopted income based integration policies--policies that use measures of family income or socioeconomic status in determining school assignment. Some scholars and policymakers contend that such policies will also reduce racial segregation.

This report explores this assumption by computing upper and lower bounds on the possible and probable levels of racial segregation that would result from race-neutral income-based school assignment policies. The article finds that, in general, income integration is no guarantee of even modest racial desegregation. Data on racial income inequality and income segregation in urban districts throughout the United States indicate that very high levels of racial segregation are possible under any practical income-integration policy.

The authors conclude that, given the extent of residential racial segregation in the United States, it is unlikely that race-neutral income-integration policies will significantly reduce school racial segregation, although there is reason to believe that such policies are likely to have other beneficial effects on schooling.

This report was presented at the CASBS Summer Workshop, "Race and Inequality in Education: Reframing a Research and Policy Agenda for the 21st Century."