A Housing Choice Voucher reform agenda: As calls grow for a dramatic expansion of the Housing Choice Voucher program, it is also important to address some of the structural problems with the program that can have the effect of steering families to higher poverty neighborhoods. See our new policy brief, “Housing Choice Voucher Reform: A Primer for 2021 and Beyond.”
Virtual opportunities for integration? CARES Act education grants to states and local districts may provide an opportunity for diverse learning across schools and districts that are usually separated by race and income. See the NCSD’s latest Policy Idea, “Using Cares Act Flexibility to Address Educational Inequities and Bring Schoolchildren Together.”
Another victory for source of income discrimination laws: In Fletcher Properties v. Minneapolis, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected a constitutional challenge to the Minneapolis ordinance prohibiting landlord discrimination against Section 8 Voucher Program tenants (several issues remain to be addressed on remand). PRRAC joined in an amicus brief in the case, along with the Housing Justice Center and the National Housing Law Project. Minneapolis-based HOME Line also submitted an amicus brief in support of the city.
Other Resources
Voucher discrimination and schools: In a further iteration of their major 2018 HUD study of Housing Choice Voucher discrimination, the Urban Institute has published a re-analysis of the study results looking at geographic rates of discrimination based on school performance. The findings are, sadly, unsurprising – see “Why Schools Should Care about Housing Voucher Discrimination.”
AFFH data preservation: As HUD does its best to eliminate all vestiges of the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, the Urban Institute has uploaded and shared all the data and relevant materials from the AFFH data and tools, for researchers or jurisdictions that are still trying to implement the Fair Housing Act’s continuing mandate. You can find all of the materials in the open data catalogue here.
Private schools and the pandemic: Americans United has released a report that documents the billions of Paycheck Protection Program COVID relief dollars that the Trump administration has given out to private and parochial schools, in addition to Secretary Devos’ recent (unlawful) directive to distribute additional CARES Act funds to private schools regardless of the level of student poverty reported.
