Most Americans Say Segregation in Schools a Serious Problem

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A majority of Americans say that racial segregation in U.S. public schools is a "very" (21%) or "moderately serious" (36%) problem. A slim majority of whites (52%) consider school segregation a serious problem, but the view is even more widespread among U.S. blacks (68%) and Hispanics (65%).

	Very/Moderately serious	Not too serious/Not a problem
	%	%
National adults	57	41
Whites	52	45
Blacks	68	33
Hispanics	65	34
Republicans	35	62
Independents	57	40
Democrats	75	24
July 15-31, 2019
Gallup

Democrats (75%) are more than twice as likely as Republicans (35%) to say that segregation in schools is serious, with the views of political independents falling about halfway in between.

These data come from a July 15-31, 2019 Gallup poll. The issue of racial segregation has been an ongoing challenge for U.S. schools since the Supreme Court ruled in 1954 that the concept of "separate but equal" was unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. The issue gained renewed prominence this year when Democratic presidential candidates sparred over ways to address the issue in the first set of candidate debates.

Though most Americans rate racial segregation in schools as a serious problem in the U.S. today, a majority (54%) believes that U.S. schools are less racially segregated than they were 20 years ago. The rest are divided between those who say that schools are more segregated today (23%) or that segregation hasn't changed over the past two decades (20%). Whether schools are, in fact, less segregated is a matter of debate in academic circles, with the answer largely dependent on what measure of segregation is used.

Small Majority Favors Government Action to Address Segregation

Americans are slightly more likely to say that the federal government should take additional steps to reduce racial segregation in U.S. schools (53%) than they are to say that the government should not take such steps (45%). However, this sparks a significant racial divide.

Less than half of U.S. whites (43%) say the government should act to address segregation, while more than three in four blacks (78%) and Hispanics (76%) say it should take action on the issue. Similarly, relatively few Republicans favor government intervention on the issue (27%), while most Democrats (73%) and a small majority of independents (54%) would like to see the federal government work to reduce segregation in schools.

	Should	Should not
	%	%
National adults	53	45
Whites	43	55
Blacks	78	21
Hispanics	76	23
Republicans	27	70
Independents	54	44
Democrats	73	25
July 15-31, 2019
Gallup

Most Americans Favor Magnet Schools, While Busing Remains Unpopular

Gallup also asked Americans whether they favor or oppose each of four proposals to reduce segregation in U.S. schools.

Most popular among the proposals is the creation of magnet schools, which about four in five Americans (79%) favor. Americans also support policies to promote low-income housing in higher-income areas (66%) as well as redistricting school boundaries to diversify districts (60%).

Least popular among these proposals is what is commonly known as "busing," which means requiring school districts to bus a certain percentage of students to neighboring school districts in order to racially diversify schools. Forty-three percent of Americans favor busing, while 55% oppose it. Between the 1970s and 1990s, Gallup found consistent opposition to busing, based on a variety of questions on the issue.

	Favor	Oppose
	%	%
Creating more regional magnet schools that offer specialized courses or curriculum	79	18
Initiating policies to promote more low-income housing in suburbs and other higher-income areas	66	32
Redrawing school district boundaries to create more racially diverse school districts	60	38
Requiring school districts to bus a certain percentage of students to a neighboring school district to make schools more racially diverse	43	55
July 15-31, 2019
Gallup

Magnet schools enjoy majority support across all racial and political party identification groups as a proposal to reduce racial concentration in certain schools. Meanwhile, promoting more low-income housing in suburban or higher income districts and redrawing district boundaries as a means of integrating schools receive majority support among all of these groups except Republicans. Majorities of Republicans oppose both proposals.

Busing is the toughest sell, with low support among whites and Republicans as well as less than half of independents. Most blacks, Hispanics and Democrats support busing, but not to the same degree as they support the other three proposals.

	Magnet schools	Low-income housing	Redrawing district boundaries	Busing
	% Favor	% Favor	% Favor	% Favor
National adults	79	66	60	43
Whites	76	58	54	33
Blacks	86	81	74	65
Hispanics	88	83	75	65
Republicans	72	43	37	20
Independents	80	66	61	45
Democrats	84	83	78	59
July 15-31, 2019
Gallup

Bottom Line

Segregated schools are a major issue in many U.S. communities, including in the South where a new report details the increasingly common creation of "splinter" school districts. These are new school districts created when school systems secede from larger districts and leave behind lower-income and predominantly nonwhite students. But segregation is common even in blue states like New York and California, where some of the most segregated school districts in the country can be found.

Policies around segregation produced the top highlight of one of the June presidential candidate debates after Sen. Kamala Harris chided former Vice President Joe Biden for his 1970s opposition to student busing. Biden's stance at the time was consistent with the solid majorities of Americans who opposed busing. And that strong opposition paved the way for the much less controversial creation of magnet schools, which were seen as an alternative to busing, and became popular in the 1980s with funding from President Ronald Reagan.

Over time, magnet schools have shifted from a focus on integration to one that is more about education competitiveness, and it is the top favored proposal on Gallup's list.

View complete question responses and trends.