A Bold Vision for School Desegregation

By: Annie Gurvis (MPA PNP)

In Spring 2019, Distinguished Visiting Urbanist Richard Buery presented a series of conversations about public policy in New York City. The third and final forum featured Council Member Brad Lander, who talked about his efforts to promote integration in New York City public schools.

Councilmember Brad Lander made a compelling case—based on equity, morality, and communal benefit—for school desegregation in the city. He noted, in conversation at NYU Wagner, that New York State has one of the most segregated school systems in the country, driven largely by the deep inequities in New York City. Lander, along with a number of his fellow council members, has done significant, impactful work to reduce school segregation, perhaps most notably in Lander’s jurisdiction of District 15 neighborhoods.

Additionally, Lander has led the Desegregating NYC report, which acknowledges the pernicious segregation of housing and infrastructure and lack of oversight in NYC. The report highlights the linkage between school segregation and residential segregation, and NYC’s racial residential segregation problem.

During the conversation, Lander emphasized the idea that schools should not be approached as a zero-sum policy issue. He was referring to a classic component of game theory, the (often false) assumption that any party’s gain comes at the expense of another. Lander asked, what can we do to enlarge the pie that is the NYC school system (and resources in general), rather than focus wholly on how the pie is divided?

Expanding the pie is no easy feat. On the housing front, federal funding of affordable options has been on the decline for years, making it more difficult for lower-income families (of any race, but disproportionately families of color) to move into wealthier (read: better funded) districts. As Lander noted, low-income children often have to travel further on our failing transit system even when staying within their districts, making them more likely to be late to class and more tired when they arrive.

So what can we do via policy to integrate communities, schools, and systems? And more critically, what can we do to ensure every NYC resident is equitably served, regardless of where they live? Desegregating NYC offers some ways forward. Desegregating is not, and will not, be easy. This country spent many years setting up systems that, overtly and covertly, reinforce segregation. Lander offered a feasible way to break down the unjust systems that persist and move forward, together.

Sources Cited

Lander, B. (April 2018). Desegregating NYC: Twelve Steps Toward a More Inclusive City.

Savitch-Lew, A. (9 July 2018). Ambitious Brooklyn School Desegregation Plan Stirs Excitement, Faces Hurdles. Citylimits.org

Wells, A.S., Fox, L., Cordova-Cobo, D. (9 February 2016). How Racially Diverse Schools and Classrooms Can Benefit All Students. The Centruy Foundation.