The Educational Success for Children and Youth Without Homes Act of 2013 re-introduced last week in the U.S. Senate would make transportation services for low-income students to the school of origin and related child services allowable uses of Title I, Part A funds.
Sen. Patty Murray’s legislation, originally introduced last March but never made it out of committee, would for the first time make homeless transportation services eligible for these funds, which are to be used for “academic enrichment services.” The Act would also increase the funding level for Title I, Part A to assist with the costs of transporting students to their school of origin, as is required under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act, subtitle B of title VII.
Murray said the latest bill “will make a strong law even more effective” by expanding school stability, enrollment and support for classroom achievement.
The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth supports the legislation, while at the same time recognizing that Murray’s solution is not “the complete solution to homeless transportation funding,” said Barbara Duffield, the D.C.-based organization’s policy director. The true complete solution, she said, is an across-the-board funding increase to McKinney-Vento. But she added that Murray’s legislation would increase the flexibility schools need to meet one of the greatest needs of homeless students: transportation.
“(T)his Title I provision is a critical step that would allow school districts to use their required Title I homeless reservation to help keep homeless children and youth stable in school, getting the education that will allow them to avoid homelessness as adults,” she added.
Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides financial assistance to local educational agencies and school districts that have at least 5 percent of its students from low-income families. Grant funding is available to help these students in public or private schools who are failing or at risk of failing to meet challenging state academic standards. Schools that have these low-income students make up at least 40 percent of enrollment eligible for Title I funds.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 56,000 schools nationwide used Title I funds during the 2009-2010 school year to serve more than 21 million students. Nearly 60 percent were in kindergarten through fifth grade, and 21 percent were in grades six through eight. Seventeen percent were in grades nine through 12, and 3 percent were in preschool.
Murray also introduced the Improving Access to Child Care for Homeless Families Act of 2013, which would amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to ensure access to high-quality child care for homeless children and families.
“It is critical that we ensure access to the child care resources and educational support these children and families need during difficult economic times,” she added. “I believe that all Americans deserve a safe and stable place to live.”
NAEHCY is urging its members to sign on to both of Murray’s bills, which were assigned to committee.
