School Choice and Segregation: Evidence from the Oakland Unified School District

Jesse Rothstein (), Ini Umosen () and Christopher R. Walters ()
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Jesse Rothstein: University of California, Berkeley
Ini Umosen: Ithaka S+R
Christopher R. Walters: University of Chicago

No 2026-38, Working Papers from Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics

Abstract: We study the prospects for changes in school priorities to reduce income segregation in a context of centralized school assignment, accounting for behavioral responses to school offers. Promoting integration is a central objective for large urban school districts in the US, and reforms to school assignment priorities are a prominent means of pursuing this goal. Such efforts may be constrained by students' decisions to exit the public school system in response to less-preferred school offers. Using data on kindergarten applicants to the Oakland Unified SchoolDistrict (OUSD), we show that offers of spots at first-choice schools boost the likelihood that applicants remain in OUSD. Nevertheless, simulations show that policy reforms giving priority for low-income students at high-income schools can substantially reduce segregation with minimal impacts on retention in the district.

JEL-codes: I21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2026
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