• Reports

Equity in Bond Planning

October 2020

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The Student and Family Resource Centers report was completed in collaboration with the Dallas Independent School District and HR&A Advisors. The report features Dallas ISD's Equity in Bond Planning project, an effort to make place-based investments in historically redlined communities so that students and their families have what they need to thrive.

Equity in Bond Planning is a project led by the Dallas Independent School District’s Racial Equity Office to develop concepts for Student and Family Resource Centers within the Lincoln, Roosevelt, Pinkston, and Spruce feeder patterns. The resource centers will be new or renovated facilities that can host programs to improve student performance and address community needs. The District recognizes that students face many out-ofschool factors that impact their education and is collaborating with the community to address these areas. Funding for the resource centers has been identified as part of the 2020 Bond Program. The Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL) supported the Racial Equity Office with data analysis and community engagement for this project. Other key collaborators include HR&A Advisors, Concordia, and bcWORKSHOP. The report that follows was written under the direction of HR&A with input by Dallas ISD, CPAL, Concordia, and bcWORKSHOP.

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  • An Underutilized Housing Affordability Tool: Homestead Exemptions

    CPAL examines homestead exemption access in Dallas County — who’s claiming, who isn’t, and how much money eligible homeowners could realize if they claimed this benefit.

    • ~57K residential properties in Dallas County may be eligible for the homestead exemption but have not yet claimed it, for an estimated total benefit of ~$310M.
    • ~40K properties in low-income and very low-income census tracts in Dallas County may be eligible for the homestead exemption but have not yet claimed it, for an estimated total benefit of ~$200M, or ~$5,000 per household.
    • While an estimated 95% of eligible households in high-income census tracts claim their homestead exemption, only 81% of households in very low-income census tracts claim their homestead exemption.
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  • 2025 Rental Housing Needs Assessment

    The 2025 Rental Housing Needs Assessment establishes a shared fact base on rental affordability, supply, and opportunity in the City of Dallas.

    • Dallas faces a 46,000-unit shortage of rental homes affordable to very low-income households earning ≤50% of Area Median Income (AMI). Since CPAL first published this report in 2023, the gap has grown by more than 12,000 units.
    • Between 2021 and 2023, the number of rental units priced below $1,000 per month was cut in half — a loss of over 50,000 units. Today, 90% of affordable units for low-income renters are unsubsidized and vulnerable to market pressures.
    • Half of all renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing, including 75% of single parents with children and 65% of senior renters. Extremely low-income renters spend, on average, 78% of their income on housing, leaving little room for other necessities.
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  • Housing Remediation as an Effective Intervention for Pediatric Asthma

    This issue-brief describes the impacts of asthma in Dallas and how home repair can better asthma outcomes, increase economic mobility, and improve the quality of life for children across Dallas.

    • Asthma is a leading cause of school absenteeism and is costly. In 2023, Dallas County children experienced 1,036 asthma inpatient hospital visits. The combined costs of these visits were ~$10.3M, for an average cost of $9,966 per visit. 
    • The Green and Healthy Homes Initiative estimates that 40% of all asthma episodes are caused by preventable home-based asthma allergens, like dust, pests, and mold.
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