METCO and the desegregation of Boston public schools through the years


As an alternative to Boston's mandatory busing crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, since 1996, students from Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts have participated in a voluntary integration program. Today, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity transports over 3,000 students from racially imbalanced or isolated schools who opt-in to attend integrated public schools in the region. The program's challenges include extended commute times for children and the removal of high-performing peers from challenged school districts.

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