Long-Term Effects of Neighborhoods on Educational Attainment by Disability Status

• In Event: Community and Urban Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 1: Neighborhood Effects

Abstract

This study examines how the effects of neighborhoods on educational attainment differ by disability status, using administrative records from Texas on more than 1.2 million children from six kindergarten cohorts (1994–1999). Children whose families moved to higher-opportunity districts—as measured by the average outcomes of non-mover children across these cohorts—experienced higher probabilities of high school completion, college attendance, and college completion, with effects generally stronger for children with disabilities. The magnitude of these effects also varies by the timing of the move and by disability type. The study further shows that growing up in neighborhoods with a larger share of people with disabilities improves long-term educational attainment for children with disabilities themselves. These effects are stronger when the share of people with disabilities is measured among children rather than adults, underscoring the importance of peer environments and school-age disability networks. The findings highlight that educational opportunity is a deeply localized policy issue rather than a purely national or individual one, especially for children with disabilities.

Author

• Pyung Kim, University of California, Santa Barbara