School district boundaries define more than just the area where a certain group of children attends a given set of schools. They also determine the taxing jurisdiction that supports those schools with local property taxes. Big differences in property value can lead to large funding gaps, even between neighboring districts. These disparities in…

Residential segregation accounts for most school segregation. School choice policies have the potential to decrease school segregation by allowing students to attend schools outside their neighborhoods. However, some research indicates that these policies can also contribute to increased segregation, likely due to differences in access to choice…

This research applies critical race theory to investigate Michigan's system for funding public schools, focusing on structural racism and discrimination embedded in education finance laws, housing policies, and residential and educational segregation. We find that the average Black student receiving free or reduced-price lunch (FRL) receives $411…

School choice is intended to leverage competition between schools to produce better educational opportunities for disadvantaged students. Yet we know very little about how competition impacts entire populations of schools of different types in distributing educational options across segregated social landscapes. We draw on theories from the…

This study chronicles the historical divisions of race and class between Detroit and its suburban neighbor as an explanation for current tensions in the communities and schools. This analysis poses implications for educational apartheid and stark disparities between urban and suburban boundaries and consequent discomfort among practitioners when…

Investigating the role of preferences in causing persistent patterns of racial residential segregation in the United States has a long history. In this paper, we bring a new perspective--and new data from the 2004 Detroit Area Study--to the question of how best to characterize black and white preferences toward living in neighborhoods with people…

Investigated participation in high school clubs and organizations by Black and White students before and after the implementation of court ordered desegregation in three cities. Found that participation of both groups is lower in schools that have undergone relatively rapid shifts in racial composition. (Author/GC)

Summarized in this paper is an examination of district segregation, the concentration of racial and ethnic minority group students in individual buildings within Michigan school districts. State, district, and building are used as units of analysis in showing the extent of racial segregation in Michigan public schools. (EB)

A 2002 study, "Race in American Public Schools: Rapidly Resegregating School Districts," identified Michigan as the state with the most segregated schools in the nation. The present data brief looks at changes in the distribution of Michigan's African American students between 1992-93 and 2004-05 to determine if African American students…