School district secessions – wherein communities “splinter” from an established district to form their own – have become increasingly common in the last 20 years, particularly in the southern U.S.

According to a new study co-authored by Penn State University’s Erica Frankenberg, those secessions can have significant impacts on local communities and schools, and lead to increased racial segregation between districts.

Frankenberg joins CPRE Knowledge Hub managing editor Keith Heumiller to discuss her team’s findings, and their implications for education policy, local government, and future research.

Featured research: Taylor, Kendra, Erica Frankenberg, and Genevieve Siegel-Hawley. “Racial Segregation in the Southern Schools, School Districts, and Counties Where Districts Have Seceded.” AERA Open, (July 2019)