A new study from the University of Minnesota Law School released last Friday found that Minnesota's policy of open enrollment between school districts increased racial segregation in the metro area from 2000–2010.

Click on the PDF to the right of this article to read the full report. Use the widget above to see the racial makeup of each district in Minnesota.

According to the study, 36 percent of open enrollment in the Twin Cities had a segregating effect in the 2009–10 school year. By contrast, 24 percent had an integrating effect. Open enrollment had a race-neutral effect in the remaining districts.

See excerpts from the report concerning local schools in an earlier Fridley Patch post: How Open Enrollment Affects Racial Makeup in Fridley-Area School Districts

“Open enrollment allows parents a wider choice in matching a school’s programs to a child’s needs and creates clearer competition between schools that could encourage innovation or improvement,” the study reported. “Yet, open enrollment also enables moves based on less noble motivations that can accelerate racial or economic transition in a racially diverse school district.”

What has been your experience with open enrollment? Leave a comment below.