Beyond Education Dollars: Does Social Safety Net Spending Affect High School Graduation Rates?

Purpose<i>.</i> To examine the relationship between social safety net spending and high school graduation rates for all students, as well as students belonging to minoritized groups. Also, to determine whether public social safety net investments and K-12 education are independent.<br>Methods<i>.</i> Using Common Core Data and the State-by-State Spending on Kids data, we estimated the effects of per-child social safety net spending on graduation rates over time (2010-2016) using two-way fixed effects.<br>Results<i>.</i> Social safety net spending positively impacts high school graduation rates, with slightly larger magnitudes for students belonging to minoritized groups. Public investments in health and K-12 education on high school graduation rate are independent.<br>Discussion<i>.</i> Our results indicate that the positive effects of social safety net spending on high school graduation rates are independent of any impacts associated with education spending, suggesting that these two types of public investments affect high school graduation through different pathways.<br> <br>IMPLICATIONS AND CONTRIBUTION<br>Social safety net spending has positive effects on high school graduation rates, independent of any impacts associated with education spending. Our findings underscore the importance of adequately financing both high public quality education systems and social safety net systems, which may be particularly beneficial for students belonging to historically underserved groups.