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Yes! In all 50 states, government-imposed restrictions dictate which public schools families can access, unlike other public goods like parks or hospitals, which are open to all. A child’s ZIP code often determines their educational opportunities. In 24 states and the District of Columbia, families can even face criminal charges for enrolling their children in a school outside their designated attendance zone. Only 16 states ensure that public schools are truly open and accessible to every student.

The idea of opening school boundaries is popular. A national YouGov poll asked Americans if they support empowering students to access any public school in their state, regardless of home address or socioeconomic status, and 84% agreed. The poll also found that two-thirds of Americans — including majorities of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans — support ending residential school assignments. 

Many school district boundaries today mirror redlined housing maps from the 1930s and 1940s. Today, a number of school district boundaries around the country are still drawn along these highly segregated socioeconomic lines. For example, coveted Gorrie Elementary in Tampa, Florida, has an attendance zone that largely replicates the exclusionary pattern of the redlining map from the New Deal era over 80 years ago. This is hardly the exception in American cities today. 

If your organization is interested in joining our coalition, please contact us for more information. 

If you have a personal story about how school district boundary lines have affected you and your family, let us know.

The nonpartisan coalition is a group of more than 50 organizations from across the country and political spectrum committed to ending discriminatory public school district boundary lines.