Published online in:
Educational Researcher
July 30, 2019

Bruce Fuller, University of California, Berkeley
Yoonjeon Kim, University of California, Berkeley
Claudia Galindo, University of Maryland
Shruti Bathia, University of California, Berkeley
Margaret Bridges, University of California, Berkeley
Greg J. Duncan, University of California, Irvine
Isabel García Valdivia, University of California, Berkeley

A half-century of research details how segregating racial groups in separate schools corresponds with disparities in funding and quality teachers, and culturally narrow curricula. But we know little about whether young Latino children have entered less or more segregated elementary schools over the past generation. This paper details the growing shares of Latino children and pupils from low-income families populating schools, 1998-2010. Latinos became more segregated within districts enrolling at least 10% Latino pupils nationwide, including large urban districts. Exposure of poor students (of any race) to middle-class peers improved nationwide. This appears to stem from rising educational attainment of adults in economically integrated communities populated by Latinos. Children of native-born Latina mothers benefit more from economic integration than those of immigrant mothers, who remain isolated in separate schools. We discuss implications for local educators and policy makers, and suggest future research to illuminate where and how certain districts have advanced integration.

Read the news release, "School Segregation Worsens for Latino Children Compared with a Generation Ago," online here.