The end of court-ordered desegregation and US children's health: quasi-experimental evidence.

Abstract

School racial segregation significantly affects racial disparities in US children's health. Recently, school segregation has been increasing, partially due to Supreme Court decisions since 1991 that have made it easier for school districts to be released from court-ordered desegregation. We investigated the association of the end of court-ordered desegregation with child health, using the 1997-2018 waves of the National Health Interview Survey (n = 8182 Black children; n = 16 930 White children). We exploited quasi-random variation in the timing of school districts' releases from court orders to estimate effects on general health, body weight, mental health, and asthma, using difference-in-differences and event-study methods (including traditional and heterogeneity-robust estimators). Heterogeneity-robust difference-in-differences analyses show that release was associated with increased school segregation, improved mental health among Black children, and better self-reported health among White children. For heterogeneity-robust event-study analyses, school segregation increased steadily over time after release, with worse self-reported health and higher risk of asthma episodes among Black children aged 18 years or older after release. Black children's mental health temporarily improved in the short term. In contrast, White children had improved self-reported health, mental health, and risk of asthma episodes in some years. Interventions to address the harms of school segregation are important for reducing racial health inequities.