The Effect of the Residential Mosaic and "White Flight" on Public School Composition: Evidence from Los Angeles County

This article examines the relationship between public school and neighborhood composition in Los Angeles County. In contrast to studies that examine the relationship between school and neighborhood composition at the school district level, our analysis focuses on the finer geographical unit of school attendance zones and finds that there is a strong correlation between the racial and ethnic composition of the school attendance zone and that of the school located in it. However, the analysis of the outliers suggests that private school attendance and open enrollment may increasingly lead to an uncoupling of the relationship between public school and neighborhood composition. This has important implications for school integration and suggests that even in a multiethnic city like Los Angeles "White flight" continues to be one strategy by which White families avoid contact between their children and racial or ethnic minorities.