The failures of busing were widely recognized even on the left not too long ago. In 2014 Slate ran a multi-part series about how liberals’ “embrace of busing hurt the cause of integration.” (“Many black Americans did believe in the school bus and the access it provided, and busing might have been a viable tool for those families had it been smartly and surgically applied. It wasn’t.

Joe Biden is getting flak for his stance on busing. But segregated schools aren’t the root cause of educational inequity, and integration alone isn’t enough to address it.

Kamala Harris’s broadside against Joe Biden’s record on busing during last week’s Democratic presidential debate has done more than just re-energize the California senator’s presidential campaign.

Experts who study the country's school system say Harris renewed attention on an issue still roiling America's public schools in a way that hasn't been seen in decades. And the 2020 presidential candidates are divided about how they feel about the continuing practice of trying to integrate the education system by moving diverse kids from one part of town to another to get an education.