The Effects of Charter Schools on Neighborhood and School Segregation: Evidence From New York City

Sarah Cordes, Temple University
Agustina Laurito , University of Illinois at Chicago

This paper examines the effects of charter schools on neighborhood and school segregation in New York City. We examine the characteristics of students who opt-out of their zoned school to attend another choice school, and a charter school. We also investigate whether students in charter schools and other opt out schools attend schools that are significantly different from what they would experience in the absence of choice. In our neighborhood analyses we estimate the relationship between charter schools (or the share of charter seats) and the percent of residents that are non-Hispanic white, Hispanic, black, or Asian. School analyses indicate that charter schools may lead to greater racial segregation in schools, particularly for minority students. While preliminary, neighborhood analyses suggest that a higher share of charter seats in a neighborhood increases the non-Hispanic white population in a neighborhood, while there are small declines in the share of black residents.

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 Presented in Session 125. The Nexus of Neighborhood and School Segregation