Conflict over race, LGBTQ issues cost schools more than $3 billion

[Lori Dee]

Conflict over race, LGBTQ issues cost schools more than $3 billion last school year
Link to Full Article
EdSource - Diana Lambert
Published December 4, 2024

The conflicts are disrupting school districts, negatively impacting schools and classrooms, and costing districts money that could be used to better serve students, according to "The Costs of Conflict, The Fiscal Impact of Culturally Divisive Conflicts on Public Schools in the United States," released last month.

Researchers from UCLA, the University of Texas at Austin, American University and UC Riverside conducted a national survey of K-12 public school superintendents from 46 states — 467 in all — and found that these conflicts are prevalent.   

Since the 2020-21 school year, uncivil discourse and hostile political rhetoric at school board meetings and on school campuses has been an ongoing problem. Two-thirds of the school superintendents surveyed for the study said they have experienced moderate to high levels of culturally divisive conflict in their districts, including misinformation campaigns, violent rhetoric and threats.

Cultural conflicts cost U.S. school districts about $3.2 billion last school year, according to the study.

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