Politics, Policy Alternatives, and Potential for School Desegregation: The Case of Howard County, Maryland

In 2019, Maryland’s Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) attempted to redistrict, or redraw school attendance boundaries, to desegregate. Whereas political resistance and legal constraints have thwarted redistricting efforts elsewhere, HCPSS’s diversity and commitments to equity positioned it favorably to desegregate. Using a mixed methods design, I explore how political factors shaped (a) different redistricting alternatives’ potential to reduce segregation and (b) segregation rates under the new attendance boundaries. I find that, despite some advocacy for desegregation, resistance from White and Asian parents led the school board to enact a segregative redistricting plan. Findings highlight the challenges with redistricting to reduce segregation, but also point to policy changes that could help districts capitalize on their limited remaining opportunities to desegregate.