The Politics of Community College Districts - CEPA Working Paper No. 21 -08 - Suggested citation

Oct 15, 2026

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At least 38 states have created service areas or “districts” for each community college, yet the geographic boundaries, the political process that defines them, and their ties to institutional racial segregation remain poorly understood. This study analyzes nearly 150 state policy documents nationally and actual district boundaries for Texas community colleges to assess whether gerrymandering is present. Results show substantial variation across states, including boundary-determination authority and tuition-reduction associations, with evidence of possible gerrymandering in some Texas districts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages46

Reading Time1 h 56 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Research Motivation and Background

State Policy Context

Purpose and Research Questions

CEPA Working Paper No. 21-08 The Politics of Community College Districts: A National Overview and Implications for Racial Gerrymandering in Texas AUTHORS Dominique J. Baker Southern Methodist University Bethany Edwards Southern Methodist University Spencer F. X. Lambert Southern Methodist University Grace Randall Southern Methodist University ABSTRACT At least 38 states have created service areas or“districts” for each of their community colleges. However, little is known about the geographic boundaries of community college districts, the political process that deﬁnes them, and how they relate to institutional racial segregation. Given this dearth of knowledge, we studied nearly 150 state policy documents nationally and the actual district boundaries of Texas community colleges in order to investigate the larger political process of determining boundaries and whether gerrymandering is present. We found signiﬁcant variation across the United States, including in who determines the boundaries and whether the districts have associated tuition reductions. In our case study, we also found evidence that at least some of Texas’s community college districts may exhibit evidence of gerrymandering. VERSION August 2021 Suggested citation: Baker, D.J. , Edwards, B. , Lambert, S. F.X. , & Randall, G. (2021) . The Politics of Community College Districts: A National Overview and Implications for Racial Gerrymandering in Texas.(CEPA Working Paper No. 21. 08) . Retrieved from Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis: [https://cepa.stanford.edu/wp21-08](https://cepa.stanford.edu/wp21-08) The Politics of Community College Districts: A National Overview and Implications for Racial Gerrymandering in Texas Dominique J. Baker, Southern Methodist University* Bethany Edwards, Southern Methodist University Spencer F. X. Lambert, Southern Methodist University Grace Randall, Southern Methodist University Working Paper (August 5, 2021) * Corresponding Author. All inquiries should be addressed to Dominique Baker, Southern Methodist University, Education Policy and Leadership, PO Box 750114, Dallas, TX 7525-0114. [Email:](Email: djbaker@smu.edu. Phone:)[ ](Email: djbaker@smu.edu. Phone:)[djbaker@smu.edu](Email: djbaker@smu.edu. Phone:)[. Phone:](Email: djbaker@smu.edu. Phone:) 214-768-1012. Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank Salvatore Saporito, Nicholas Hillman, Meredith Richards, and Christopher Bennett for their helpful comments. The research reported in this article was made possible by a grant from the Spencer Foundation (\#202000156) . The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Spencer Foundation. The authors bear sole responsibility for the content of this article. Abstract At least 38 states have created service areas or “districts” for each of their community colleges. However, little is known about the geographic boundaries of community college districts, the political process that defines them, and how they relate to institutional racial segregation. Given this dearth of knowledge, we studied nearly 150 state policy documents nationally and the actual district boundaries of Texas community colleges in order to investigate the larger political process of determining boundaries and whether gerrymandering is present. We found significant variation across the United States, including in who determines the boundaries and whether the districts have associated tuition reductions. In our case study, we also found evidence that at least some of Texas’s community college districts may exhibit evidence of gerrymandering. The Politics of Community College Districts: A National Overview and Implications for Racial Gerrymandering in Texas Despite extensive attention to racial segregation within K-12 education (see Reardon and Owens [2014] for a review), scholars have rarely examined segregation in postsecondary education (Baker, Sola

FAQs

How many states create service areas or “districts” for community colleges, according to the paper?

The paper states that at least 38 states have created service areas or “districts” for each of their community colleges.

What research materials does the study use to investigate district boundary politics and gerrymandering?

It analyzes nearly 150 state policy documents nationally and the actual district boundaries of Texas community colleges.

What did the study find regarding variation across the United States?

The study finds significant variation across states, including who determines boundaries and whether districts have associated tuition reductions.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Angel