The last officially segregated public school in the United States is widely considered to have closed in 2016 , when a long‑segregated high school system in Cleveland, Mississippi, was finally desegregated by federal court order.

Quick Scoop: When was the last segregated school closed?

  • In Cleveland, Mississippi , the public school system remained effectively segregated for decades after segregation was ruled unconstitutional in 1954.
  • The district operated Cleveland High School (majority white) and East Side High School (almost entirely Black) as separate schools long after other districts had integrated.
  • In May 2016 , a federal judge ordered the district to desegregate and consolidate its secondary schools, ending what is often called the last segregated public school district in America.
  • Under the court-approved plan, the campuses were reorganized into integrated schools, and the old segregated structure was dismantled over 2016–2017.

Many historians and news outlets therefore point to 2016 as the year the last segregated school in the U.S. was finally closed in its old form.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.