Education for Homeless Children and Youth

RECOMMENDATIONS

Appropriate $140 million in FY 2011 for the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program.

Reauthorize the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program. The program should be extended through 2015 and its authorization level should be increased. Improvements should be made to ensure homeless students’ access to transportation services and afterschool activities.

U.S. Senators—Co-sponsor the Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act of 2009 (S. 2800). Originate a Dear Colleague sign-on letter to Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations leaders recommending $140 million in FY 2011 for the EHCY program. Include a recommendation of $140 million in FY11 for the EHCY program in the Senator’s annual Program Request letter to Appropriations leaders.

U.S. Representatives—Introduce a companion bill to the Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act of 2009 (S. 2800). Originate a Dear Colleague sign-on letter to Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations leaders recommending $140 million in FY 2011 for the EHCY program. Include a recommendation of $140 million in FY11 for the EHCY program in the Representative’s annual Program Request letter to Appropriations leaders.

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ISSUE STATUS

(visit www.nn4youth.org periodically for status updates)

The EHCY program received $65 million in FY 2010. The President’s FY 2011 Budget Request includes level funding for EHCY.  The EHCY program also received additional one-time appropriations of $70 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in recognition of the fact that the economic crisis is increasing youth and family homelessness and resultant school instability among homeless children and youth.

Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Al Franken (D-MN) introduced the Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act of 2009 (S. 2800) in fall 2009. S. 2800, amends the McKinney-Vento Act's Education for Homeless Children and Youth program, Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), and other related titles of the ESEA. S. 2800 makes a strong law even stronger by reinforcing and expanding its key provisions, including school stability, enrollment, and support for academic achievement. S. 2800 also expands authorized funding to meet transportation needs.

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WHY THIS MATTERS

Youth Experiencing Homelessness Encounter Difficulties Enrolling in and Attending School.  These barriers include legal guardianship requirements, residency requirements, lack of necessary immunization, academic, or other records, and inadequate transportation to their schools of origin from their temporary living arrangements.  As a result, many homeless young people struggle in obtaining education, or fall out of the educational system altogether.

Truancy Places Youth at Risk of Involvement in the Juvenile Justice System. Truancy – the failure to attend school – is a delinquent action in some states. Truanting youth are at high-risk of contact with law enforcement authorities, courts, and juvenile justice systems. Unaccompanied youth experience special challenges to enrolling and attending school, thus placing them at risk of truancy, and therefore in contact with the juvenile justice system.

EHCY Addresses Unique Educational Needs of Homeless Children and Youth.  Congress has responded to the educational needs of homeless children and youth by establishing laws and a grant program (the EHCY program) which ensure that children and youth experiencing homelessness shall have a right to enroll, attend, and succeed in school. The EHCY law requires all local educational agencies (LEAs) to designate a liaison for homeless children and youth. The EHCY law requires state educational agencies (SEAs) and LEAs to adopt policies and practices that ensure that transportation is provided to homeless students to and from the school of origin.

Vigorous Implementation of the Educational Rights and Protections for Homeless Students Requires Resources to SEAs and LEAs to implement the requirements.  At the current funding level, only a nine percent of LEAs nationwide receive EHCY funds.  As a result, many school districts have difficulty implementing EHCY provisions.  Forty-one percent of students identified by local educational agencies as homeless are in school districts that do not receive subgrants.

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BACKGROUND

The Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program provides grants to states to assist them in assuring that homeless children and youth enroll, attend, and succeed in school. State educational agencies use EHCY funds to review and revise laws, regulations, practices, and policies that may act as a barrier to enrollment, attendance, and success.  States also make competitive subgrants to local education agencies to address enrollment, attendance, and achievement problems caused by transportation issues, immunization and residency requirements, lack of birth certificates and school records, and guardianship issues. 

Local school districts receiving EHCY funds use their moneys for outreach and identification, enrollment assistance, transportation assistance, school records transfer, immunization referrals, tutoring, counseling, school supplies, assessment, professional development for educators, and referrals for community services targeted to homeless students. The program also supports a Coordinator of Education for Homeless Children and Youth in each state who provides technical assistance to LEAs and gathers comprehensive information about homeless children and youth and barriers to their regular attendance at school. 

The EHCY program was enacted as a component of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, and was last reauthorized in 2001 as part of the No Child Left Behind Act.