Fewer than 24% of LEAs receive McKinney-Vento grants, and over one third of students experiencing homelessness attend districts receiving none¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2028: baselines and conditions change
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Fewer than 24% of LEAs (4,497 of 18,844 in 2019–20) received McKinney-Vento grants; funded districts educated about 63% of identified students, and the average grant was approximately $21,455. → Espinoza 2023
Evidence¶
Espinoza 2023¶
Espinoza, D., Griffith, M., Burns, D., & Shields, P. M. (2023). Federal and state resources for students experiencing homelessness. Learning Policy Institute. https://doi.org/10.54300/546.264
q2 · i? · review · r2
Report's analysis of the competitive subgrant process; state allocations per identified student ranged from $38 in Utah to $287 in Vermont because the formula is based on Title I proportions rather than homelessness counts. The average grant of $21,455 covers about one third of one teacher's salary.
"Because the limited amount of funds is distributed through a competitive process, most districts do not receive funds—in fact, fewer than 24% of LEAs (4,497 out of 18,844 in 2019–20) do."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Per-student spending on homeless programs varied considerably across the five study districts, from $128 to $556 — related
- Student homelessness disproportionately affects Black students, LGBT youth, English learners, and students with disabilities — related
- Federal McKinney-Vento funding is low and not allocated by homeless-student counts: $106.5 million in 2020–21, under $82 per identified student, reaching only a fraction of districts — related
- McKinney-Vento funding per identified student rose only from $71 to $79 between 2010 and 2020 despite a 39% increase in identified students — related
- Only four states (California, Massachusetts, New York, Washington) dedicate state funding specifically to students experiencing homelessness — related
- School improvement grant awards are small relative to the scale of needed change, averaging about $100,000 per school in 2020-21 — related
- Approximately 57% of California students experiencing homelessness are enrolled in schools where more than 80% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, compared with 34% of all students — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
mckinney-vento-uneven-distribution |
title |
Fewer than 24% of LEAs receive McKinney-Vento grants, and over one third of students experiencing homelessness attend districts receiving none |
description |
Fewer than 24% of LEAs receive McKinney-Vento grants, and over one third of students experiencing homelessness attend districts receiving none |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2023 |
source_checked |
2026-10-20 |
recheck_by |
2028 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-10 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — espinoza-2023 |
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