Strauss: Studies Show Rising Segregation Levels

Valerie Strauss writes at the Washington (DC) Post (9/23, Strauss) "Answer Sheet" blog about a series of recent reports indicating "increased levels of segregation in US public schools that are so substantial that, the authors conclude, the country's success as a multiracial society is at risk." Strauss adds that the studies "found that in 1970, nearly four out of every five students across the nation were white, but by 2009, just over half were white - and in the South and West, students of color now constitute a majority of public school enrollment. The research shows that segregation is substantially increasing for Latino students across the country but most significantly in the West, and that for black students, segregation also remains very high and is most severely growing in the South." She notes that the reports call on DOJ and ED's Office for Civil Rights to punish districts and school that violate segregation laws.