Interdistrict Desegregation Programs

Summary

This report describes how districts operate interdistrict desegregation programs to combat regional segregation. The report first provides an overview of interdistrict desegregation program types, outcomes, and common challenges. The report then suggests solutions to major problems facing interdistrict desegregation programs, including the legality of selection criteria, decreasing community engagement, the lack of sustainable funding, and strained relations with urban districts.

Key observations from our research

1.  Voluntary desegregation program administrators may not be able to design selection processes based on the race of individual students due to legal implications.
2. To achieve both racial and socioeconomic diversity, consider combining generalized racial selection criteria and socioeconomic selection criteria.
3. To increase urban district engagement, ask state legislators to allocate additional funds to replace funding that transfers with students from urban to suburban districts.
4. To create effective, two-way interdistrict desegregation programs, develop urban magnet schools designed to appeal to suburban parents.
5. Interdistrict desegregation programs improve the academic and social outcomes of participating students but may not meaningfully impact regional segregation trends.

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