Who Gets Closed? Twenty Years of Access-Restricting School Closures in Arkansas

Authors

• Mara C. Tieken, Bates CollegeFollow
• Christine MurrayFollow

ORCID

Mara C. Tieken: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3560-9276

Abstract

Many states are facing dropping enrollments, budget shortfalls, and pandemic-era learning loss, and, looking to maximize efficiency and strengthen academics, they are considering district consolidation and school closure. Yet school closure is a highly contested issue, and research suggests that closure can harm students and communities. This study used discrete time survival analysis to investigate the demographic and institutional factors associated with access-restricting closures of rural schools in Arkansas from the 2003–2004 school year to the 2022–2023 school year. We looked at these closures—nearly all of them preceded by district consolidation due to under-enrollment or academic or fiscal sanction—to explore potential racial and class disproportionality. We found that the racial makeup of the student body seems to contribute to the likelihood of closure, in that schools with more Black students have a greater probability of experiencing closure, especially as part of forced consolidation.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Tieken, M. C., & Murray, C. (2026). Who Gets Closed? Twenty Years of Access-Restricting School Closures in Arkansas. The Rural Educator, 47(3), 83-98. https://doi.org/10.55533/2643-9662.1621