School district houses are houses within a school district in China that allow students free admission to the nearest school. Students who take advantage of school district houses can enter the nearest school without exams. School district houses were first created in 1995 when China's laws were changed to prevent prestigious schools from enrolling students from far away areas, mainly based on donations to the school. This initiative was planned to help improve less popular schools. However, the actual outcome was that the price of housing around better schools increased; thereby, creating inequality of a different sort. Those who can afford it will often pay higher prices for housing in the hope of securing better opportunities for their children. Background Since the 1990s, the educational benefits of certain schools attracted many parents to pay large sums of money or use social resources to enroll their children. Some schools run their subject training institutions for primary school students or cooperate with social institutions. They select outstanding students to enter their junior high school from the subject training institutions. To increase the probability of being admitted to these key secondary schools, parents often enroll their children in training courses that are designated or closely related to the schools. The policy of “nearby enrollment” was enacted to equalize the opportunities for students to enter schools, narrow the gap between key schools and weaker schools, as well as promote the balanced development of compulsory education. However, the promulgation of “nearby enrollment” led to the emergence of “school district houses.” If a school-age child's household registration is in a good school district, they can enter a school offering an education of good quality. But the opposite also occurs: if a child is in a school district with schools offering a poor quality of education, they will only be permitted to go to one of these schools. As a result, since the promulgation of this policy, many families have chosen to purchase real estate in communities or neighborhoods with reputable schools to ensure that the best quality education is provided for their children. They do this regardless of the costs, so long as they achieve their goal of obtaining a household registration that meets the policy of “nearby enrollment”. History In 1962, China's Ministry of Education issued the “Notice on the Successful Implementation of a number of Full-time Primary and Secondary Schools”. The notice requires several