Four-part policy strategy: increase funding, revise allocation formulas, expand allowable uses, and improve spending data¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 2 studies (1 review, 1 qualitative), q2 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The report recommends that policymakers "consider increasing funding, making changes to funding distribution, expanding allowable uses of federal funding, and improving the quality of information about the use of funds." Concretely: raise McKinney-Vento toward the ARPA baseline of roughly $625 per student; shift allocation toward an entitlement model based partly on homelessness enrollment; align HUD's definition with McKinney-Vento's and allow emergency housing expenses; and make Title I set-aside reporting permanent so states can identify promising approaches.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Federal and state legislative action on appropriation levels, allocation formulas, and allowable uses of funds

Constraints¶

• The report notes additional research is needed to determine the exact funding amount necessary, and ARPA funds were one-time rather than ongoing

Target Learners¶

• Students experiencing homelessness in U.S. public schools

Target Learning Goals¶

• Educational access and stability
• Full participation in school
• College and career readiness

Claims¶

• 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 [+W]
• Fewer than 24% of LEAs receive McKinney-Vento grants, and over one third of students experiencing homelessness attend districts receiving none [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Policy recommendations: fully fund the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program, expand allowable uses, base funding on homeless-student counts, and invest in community schools

Examples¶

-

Key Sources¶

• 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