ERIC Number: ED676668
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Sep
Pages: 65
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Redrawing the Lines: How Purposeful School System Redistricting Can Increase Funding Fairness and Decrease Segregation. Education Policy & PreK-12 Education
Zahava Stadler; Jordan Abbott
New America
Students often attend school in segregated districts that are funded with very different amounts of property tax revenue. These conditions are the result of the fact that states place their school district borders along lines that entrench and worsen America's racial and economic divides. States can, and should, redraw school district boundaries to encompass more equal property tax capacities and more diverse student populations. Just as legislative gerrymandering can shift the balance of political power in a state without changing anything about the voters who live there, purposeful school-system redistricting can ensure that all kids get a fairer share of the state's property tax base, regardless of race, class, or neighborhood--all without changing anything about property values or where families live. In this new research report, New America's Education Funding Equity initiative draws on the machine-learning methods often used for legislative redistricting to simulate new school system boundaries. We present three potential redistricting approaches--a blank-slate model that draws entirely new school districts, one consisting of only county-based districts, and one that strategically merges existing districts--and measure their impact on tax-base fairness and segregation. The average state analyzed shows enormous potential gains: up to a 66.6 percent increase in the equality of per-pupil tax capacity between districts, a 47.6 percent reduction in racial segregation, and a 65.0 percent decrease in economic segregation. An accompanying interactive map and data tool allow users to compare the three models against states' existing school district boundaries and see how redrawing the boundary lines could give more diverse student populations fairer access to local school funding.
Descriptors: School Districts, School District Reorganization, School District Wealth, Educational Finance, State School District Relationship, Elementary Secondary Education, Desegregation Methods, School Desegregation, School Funds, Student Diversity, Equal Education
New America. 740 15th Street NW Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-986-2700; Fax: 202-986-3696; Web site: https://www.newamerica.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Skyline Foundation; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; American Institutes for Research (AIR)
Authoring Institution: New America
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A


