Background: Magnet schools emerged during the 1960s as part of an effort to desegregate schools across the United States. Their primary purpose is to provide appealing educational settings to induce voluntary desegregation through parental choices (George & Darling-Hammond, 2021). Some of these magnet schools operate at a regional level to…

This manual was written to help guide education stakeholders--including parents, students, school board members, community activists, administrators, policymakers and attorneys--in their efforts to promote racial diversity and avoid racial isolation in suburban school systems. Critical information on the current legal, political and policy issues…

In many urban areas, educators rely on magnet schools to strike a delicate balance between the need to create opportunities for equity in education and the need for parents to have greater choice among schools. But, are magnet schools successful? This document considers whether they fulfill the promises of high achievement and desegregation in…

This document describes viable options to enable the State of Connecticut to provide integrated and quality education, in response to a 1988 report that presented broad-based recommendations for overcoming racial inequalities in contiguous school districts. The initial report, dramatizing the increasing racial and economic isolation in the state's…

In 1984, a research study was conducted to document whether magnet schools provide quality education and promote racial/ethnic balance. As a result of the study it was found that magnet schools: (1) are associated with positive student achievement; (2) produce consistent effects in elementary and secondary schools and in schools with different…

This document comprises a report on the architectural elements of choice in the desegregation process, a review of the choice process based on Minnesota's experience, and a statement of implications for state policymakers. The following organizational principles of the choice process are discussed: (1) enrollment based on a "first come, first…

This report details the technical aspects of an evaluation of Magnet School programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1982-83. It focuses on implementation during that year and on progress made toward reducing harms of racial isolation. A prologue considers the social, economic, and governmental context affecting the analysis and…

This two-part anthology of research summaries examines the potential of magnet schools to provide equal education and educational access for minority group children and reviews successful magnet programs. Part 1, "Magnet Schools, Desegregation, and Choice," contains the following chapters: (1) "Using Magnet Schools for…

This report details the technical aspects of a 1983 evaluation of Year-Round Schools (YRS) in the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is part of a combined effort to assess voluntary integration programs and is designed to inform the district's policy-makers on the progress the district has made in relieving the harms of racial isolation. A…

Demographic trends are developing in Connecticut that show increasing racial segregation and divided educational facilities in contiguous urban and suburban school districts. Racial balance on a statewide basis is not sufficient to counteract the effects of the growth of the state's minority populations, the residential clustering of racial/ethnic…

A statewide study was conducted to identify and describe successful voluntary school desegregation programs funded under Chapter 636, a 1974 amendment to Massachussets' Racial Imbalance Law. Programs selected were of four types: (1) school-based (elementary, middle, and high); (2) school system- or district-wide; (3) part-time and full-time…

This paper summarizes events leading to the interdistrict settlement of the St. Louis (Missouri) school desegregation case. Remarks are focused on four points: (1) an overview of the settlement process and rationale, (2) an explanation of the principal provisions, (3) a brief analysis of the implementation process, and (4) a discussion of the…

This study shows where school segregation is concentrated and where schools remain highly integrated. It offers the first national comparison of segregation by community size and reveals that segregation remains high in big cities and serious in mid-size central cities. Many African-American and Latino students also attend segregated schools in…

School choice is advocated on the theory that deregulation and greater market control can restructure and improve education. While certain market strategies of improvement are worth exploring, complex production functions, unclear goals, and the political role of education in society limit the extent to which education can be understood and…

This study compares the long-term desegregation effectiveness of voluntary plans with magnet schools to mandatory reassignment plans with magnet schools. The introduction includes an extensive discussion of the problems of choosing dependent variables for use in desegregation studies. The potential study population was chosen based on the…