Some schools are paying students $50 a week. Could it help boost attendance?

WASHINGTON (InvestigateTV) — Several U.S. schools are paying students a set amount of money each week with no strings attached.

It’s a concept known as “unconditional cash assistance,” and educators hope a little extra money might help bring stability to the lives of at-risk teens. In doing so, they also hope to improve student wellbeing, focus and attendance.

The effort comes as school systems coast-to-coast grapple with chronic absenteeism, which is when a student misses 10% or more of the academic year. Based on a 180-day school calendar, that’s about 18 missed days.

National rates of chronic absenteeism, estimated at about 22%, are still significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.

The $50 study

Mashea Ashton walks the halls often at Digital Pioneers Academy, a public charter school in Washington, D.C., popping into classrooms, greeting students and taking note of who’s not there.

“Coming to school is important,” Ashton said.

As the founder and CEO, Ashton tracks attendance rates closely.

According to data from the D.C. Public Charter School Board, more than half of high schoolers at Digital Pioneers Academy, 54.6%, had at least 11 unexcused absences.

Though that problem peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, it persists today at many schools across the country.

“There really was a range of challenges, whether it was taking care of siblings, illness, worried about getting sick but also just the comfort of being home,” Ashton said.

Most students at the school come from low-income homes, she said.

“Kids come from some pretty tough neighborhoods and so getting to and from school in a safe way was also a real obstacle,” Ashton said.

Ashton said all the data and research shows the more students come to school, the more positive impact it has on learning.

“So we did everything. We did surveys. We talked to kids, had attendance challenges, home visits, letters to parents, parent meetings — I think we have to be innovative,” she said.

That search for innovative ideas led to New Orleans, where the Rooted School in 2020 asked students about the biggest barriers they faced in getting to class.

“Whether students were being asked to stay home and provide childcare or they were being asked to miss school and pick up extra shifts at work, we were hearing a resounding need from our students for additional money. And so we said, okay, let’s give this a try,” said Talia Livneh, senior director of programs at the Rooted School Foundation.

That began what’s now known as “The $50 Study.” In the direct cash assistance program, students receive $50 a week for 40 consecutive weeks on a reloadable debit card with no stipulations.

“It’s the first time anyone in the country, as far as we know, had given unconditional cash to high school students,” Livneh said.

The initial goal was to see what kind of impact a guaranteed weekly payment might have on students’ lives, academics and absenteeism.

“I was curious about it, honestly. And I feel like it would be a good opportunity for me and my family, for me not to have to rely on them for money,” said Elizabeth Burgos, a Rooted School student.

So far, Livneh said feedback from students and families has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Students have shared with us. I can make sure my laundry is done and my hair looks the way that I want it to, so I feel confident going to school. We’ve had students share with us that they don’t have to work part-time jobs. And that increases their attendance,” Livneh said.

Research findings

The Rooted School wanted more than anecdotal examples. To do that, the school teamed up with researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Tennessee.

From 2022 to 2024, they tracked nearly 400 middle and low-income students across three high schools. It was set up as a randomized controlled trial, in which about half of the students received $50 a week. The other half served as a control group and received a $10 Amazon gift card each month.

Throughout the study, researchers found about half the funds students received (44.81%) were spent on food and groceries. There was also evidence of financial discipline, with many participants choosing to save for things like cars or college expenses. But researchers found no significant changes in grade point averages.

When it comes to attendance, there was just a slight improvement. Students who got the $50 cash transfers attended roughly 1.23 more days of school per semester, compared to those who didn’t.

“We recognize that 1.23 days might not sound like a lot to an average person, but as an educator, every day that a student is in school does matter,” Livneh said.

When asked about skeptics who feel that’s not moving the needle enough, Livneh said she thinks about how students are spending the money.

“When I see young adults spending 45% of the funds that we are giving them on food and on transportation, and then I see utility bills show up, what I know that we’re doing here is giving students, families and communities the opportunity to meet their needs,” she said.

Program expands to Washington

Leaders at Digital Pioneers Academy said that’s all they needed to hear.

“It was a no-brainer for us,” Ashton said.

In the fall of 2025, in partnership with the Rooted School Foundation and with funding from a local nonprofit, the Digital Pioneers Academy started a $50 study of its own.

“This is definitely something that’s going to make me more present,” said 17-year-old Sharon Skinner, one of 40 participants from the senior class who were selected through a random lottery.

Skinner said she’s planning to save most of the money she gest, while others opted to spend their weekly payments on meals or transportation to school.

“I’ve been so active playing basketball, I need fuel in my system. So it’s been helping me get breakfast every morning,” said student Keenan Parker.

“I’ll be using it to get here to school on time. Like if I wake up late or the buses are running late, I can just call Uber,” said student Brian Gale.

When asked if $50 a week could make a difference when it comes to attendance rates, Gale said he thinks it would.

“They show they’re caring about my education and they’re willing to spend money on me, why wouldn’t I do it?” he said.

For Ashton, it’s an investment worth making and one she hopes will pay dividends in the future.

“There isn’t one answer that’s going to solve chronic absenteeism and truancy,” he said. “But I think when students feel empowered to make good choices, when they have adults who trust them and push them, they want to go to school.”

Funding challenges

Organizers of the $50 study hope to take this program national, but admit funding is by far their biggest challenge.

Some critics have said that’s what makes these types of programs unaffordable on a large scale.

“It’s an interesting issue to raise, and it’s hard to raise in a vacuum to be honest, like what are we choosing to fund and what are we choosing not to fund? When kids don’t graduate from high school, that has long-term economic effects. When I think about affordability, I don’t think about just a one-time cost, I think about how are we using budget dollars to invest for the future,” said Lelaine Bigelow, executive director of the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality.

In New Orleans, the study has been largely funded by private donations, but in 2024, the Rooted School secured a $1 million grant from the city to help expand it there.

In Washington, legislation has been introduced to create a city-funded “$50 a week” pilot program for students.