Fracking for kids? Environmental injustices in proximity to fracking wells among Texas public schoolchildren

Via hydraulic fracturing, companies inject sand, water, and chemicals into the ground to extract natural gas and oil from shales. Fracking can impose health burdens on nearby communities, and some research suggests that racial minorities and low-income communities face greater exposure to fracking. Texas provides a unique case for studying the geographic distribution of fracking and environmental justice. While cities nationwide have banned fracking, the state's natural resource code preempts municipalities from doing so. Furthermore, unlike most U.S. regions where shales are located far from cities, many fracking sites are located in and around major population centers in Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth region. To evaluate the burden of fracking in Texas, we examine levels of proximity to active sites among schoolchildren in 2025 and confirm these results with a spatial analysis. First, we find that 3.3% of Texas public schools are located within 1 km of an active fracking site, and 31% are located within 10 km. Using spatially weighted statistical modeling, we predict exposure to fracking wells for public non-charter schools located on gas shales. Among this subset, schools enrolling more non-Hispanic Black students are more likely to be located near active fracking wells, while Hispanic students and poverty have somewhat ambiguous relationships with fracking proximity. Upon controlling for other factors like population density, school level, and enrollment, schools with more Black and Hispanic students have greater exposure to fracking, while schools with more poor students have less exposure. Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) suggests geographic variation across Texas. • Explores environmental injustice in fracking proximity of Texas public schools. • 31% of Texas schools are located within 10 km of an active fracking well. • Student fracking exposure is especially severe in DFW. • Schools with more Black students have substantially higher fracking exposure. • Schools with more Hispanic students have somewhat higher fracking exposure.