TY  - JOUR
AB  - Enrollment patterns in K-12 online (“virtual”) charter schools have the potential to influence segregation in traditional brick-and-mortar public schools. Yet, research has largely ignored how online schooling options impact racial segregation and poverty concentration within district schools. To address this gap, I conduct two complementary studies: In the first study, I exploit variation in the share of district students enrolling in virtual charter schools across the state, while in the second, I leverage the sudden and unexpected closure of a large statewide virtual charter school. Using a matched event study difference-in-differences approach, I find that the introduction of virtual charter schools reduced the gap in the likelihood of minority and non-minority students being exposed to minority peers (i.e., racial imbalance) by 45–75%, particularly in urban districts. However, virtual charter schools also led to 10-24% increase in the concentration of high-poverty students, again driven by effects in urban districts. I further find that the closure reduced racial imbalance in urban districts by 27% while increasing racial unevenness in rural districts by 38%. Potential mechanism analyses reveal selective exit of high-poverty students following introduction and selective or concentrated re-entry of minority students after closure as key channels shaping segregation outcomes in traditional district schools. These findings suggest that although racial imbalance declines following both the introduction and closure, particularly in urban districts, these changes largely reflect compositional sorting rather than meaningful integration, as students remain concentrated along racial and poverty lines.
AU  - Yaluma, Christopher B.
PY  - 2026
ST  - The Impact of Statewide Virtual Charter Schools on District Segregation
TI  - The Impact of Statewide Virtual Charter Schools on District Segregation
UR  - http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1495
ER  -