Black, Native American, Hispanic, and low-income students were significantly more likely than their white and high-income peers to attend schools within a quarter mile of a hazardous site polluted by toxins like lead, arsenic, mercury, asbestos, and more, according to the new working paper by researchers at Brown University published in January by the Annenberg Institute.
“Those findings really shocked us,” said Matthew Kraft, a professor of education and economics who authored the report alongside research associate Sohil Malik and project director Grace Falken. “This data shows this should be a topic that is a central part of our discussion of how we support teaching and learning in our public and private schools.”