Residential and School Mobility after Receiving a Housing Choice Voucher: The Effects on Student Academic Outcomes

When low-income households receive a housing choice voucher (HCV), this rent subsidy may make it possible to move to neighborhoods where children have access to schools that improve their educational outcomes. This study examines how receiving an HCV shapes families’ residential choices and neighborhood contexts, and how this influences their children’s school enrollment and school characteristics. Additionally, through an analysis of the students’ academic records, this study examines how HCV receipt and subsequent relocation shapes students’ short- and long-term educational outcomes. By advancing understanding of the relationship between housing voucher receipt, school enrollment, and educational outcomes, this study informs the decision-making of housing authorities responsible for implementing housing voucher policy and practice and school districts working to support low-income students. This study addresses four objectives: 1) document changes in neighborhood contexts and school enrollment patterns of students whose families receive housing choice vouchers (HCVs); 2) identify structural barriers to accessing different school catchment areas for these families; 3) assess how housing and school choices mutually influence voucher use and affect subsequent residential and school mobility; and 4) identify the effects of voucher receipt on student educational outcomes. The study leveraged four levels of data spanning the years 2000-2022: student level, family level, school level, and neighborhood level. Through a combination of geospatial analyses, discrete choice modeling, and difference-in-difference analyses, this project assesses where families move with their vouchers, how their residential trajectories align with school enrollment, and how voucher receipt impacts student outcomes, including test-scores, high school graduation, and college enrollment. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.