State and District Implementation of the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program

In the 2010–11 school year, approximately one million students — or 2 percent of the total number of students attending school — were identified as homeless (National Center for Homeless Education, 2012). Most of these homeless children and youth (71 percent) were “doubled-up,” meaning that they resided with another family at night. Other homeless children and youth stayed at a shelter (17 percent), were unsheltered (7 percent), or stayed at a hotel (5 percent) (ED Facts 2010–11).

To address the challenges and barriers to school success for homeless children and youth, Congress created the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program, authorized under Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 (MVHAA). The EHCY program provides funding to states and certain other jurisdictions and agencies with the goal of ensuring that homeless children and youth have access to the same free, appropriate public education as do other children and youth.

This report examines state and school district implementation of the EHCY program based on surveys of state EHCY coordinators and district homeless liaisons and analysis of extant data.

Publication Date: 
2015
Location: 
USA