Breaking down school zones that are exclusionary and allowing there to be diversity within suburban and urban schools is critical policy work that would close the disparities between suburban and urban schools. Without creating policy that would eliminate school zones and integrate all schools, the problem of resegregation worsens. For example, “with continuing demographic shifts in many states and communities, this issue [resegregation] is rearing its head in new and important ways,” that we must use policy to stop (Richard, 2013). It’s important that we integrate and mix the suburban schools with the urban schools and not to only integrate within the urban communities like Bradley v Milliken did. In this Supreme Court case, the NAACP sued the state of Michigan for not properly integrating the schools, “they wanted a solution that would involve both the city and the suburbs since, by that point, the vast majority of Detroit’s residents were black, and meaningful de-segregation within city limits had become almost impossible,” (Hertz, 2014). Their 1970 wishes echo into today’s school reform policy debates. If we ignore the suburbs when we are integrating and redrawing school zones, then we are avoiding the actual issue at hand. That is, urban schools are underperforming suburban schools in every aspect and if we leave the suburban schools untouched, the gap between test scores, college preparedness and others will continue to expand between the two areas. With the recognition of “the crucial role city-suburb borders played in maintaining segregated schools,” policymakers should call for the mixture of suburban schools with urban schools (Hertz, 2014). This would mean that not only would they just be taking a few kids from urban schools and allowing them to attend better suburban schools, but kids at suburban schools would be mixed with city schools as well. There would have to be busing factored into this new policy as well to provide transportation for students who are crossing district lines. While the busing may be costly, the outcomes of this new policy would far outweigh the costs because, “desegregated learning environments benefit the academics of black students who experience them,” (Heath & Mickelson, 1999).
References:
Hertz, D. (2014, July 24). You’ve probably never heard of one of the worst Supreme Court decisions. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
Mickelson, R. A., & Heath, D. (1999). The Effects of Segregation on African American High School Seniors Academic Achievement. The Journal of Negro Education, 68(4), 566. doi:10.2307/2668155
Richard, A. (2013, April 26). Racial segregation continues to impact quality of education in Mississippi-and nationwide. Retrieved April 28, 2018, from http://hechingerreport.org/racial-segregation-continues-to-impact-quality-of-education-in-mississippi-and-nationwide/
