Dive Brief:

• A new report from The Century Foundation, a progressive think-tank, shows that U.S. schools are increasingly integrating socioeconomically, stating that this is beneficial for the academic advancement of historically disenfranchised student populations. 
• According to the Huffington Post, just 91 school districts in 32 different states have socioeconomic integration policies, and one of the authors of the Century Foundation report said that this small number represented "really promising and encouraging momentum."
• Unlike integregation focused solely on race, the article argues, socioeconomic integregation is more palatable to schools and communities because it's done voluntarily and not forced.

Dive Insight:

Over $100 million is included in President Barack Obama's proposed 2017 budget in order to help schools integrate socioeconomically. It's certainly a trend gaining traction — yet it's still a tiny one, given the minute number of districts reported to have actually integrated with success.

Nationwide, however, a larger trend of heightened racial segregation in American schools has gained the spotlight in recent years. The author of "Brown at 60," which looked at segregation in U.S. schools 60 years after the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education was supposed to end the practice.

The disparity has serious consequences. Students who lack access to good teachers, resources, and opportunities in K-12 overwhelmingly end up in high schools that are also deficient. That means options for pursuing higher education are similarly limited. Overall, segregation and inequitable access to education continues a cycle of poverty for disadvantaged students. Integrating socioeconomically may be the easiest way to address the issue across the board.

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