Archived Policy Posts

On December 21, Congress passed a legislative package including over $900 billion for emergency coronavirus relief, and $1.4 trillion for the final fiscal year 2021 (FY21) budget. The emergency coronavirus funds are intended as a stop-gap measure, providing much-needed immediate relief over the next few months, until the new Congress convenes.

Congressional leaders announced that the final FY2021 funding legislation to be voted on today will include provisions to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), including many measures to remove financial aid barriers for unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth. SchoolHouse Connection is thrilled to announce this historic win at the close of a challenging year for children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness. It is a culmination of a decade of consistent, bipartisan advocacy to help youth experiencing homelessness and from foster care access financial aid.

On November 10, the U.S. Senate released its FY2021 spending bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, as well as other agencies. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its FY2021 Labor-HHS-ED spending bill, H.R. 7614, on July 13.

There is nothing ordinary about this Presidential transition. The seismic events of the coronavirus pandemic, the economic crisis, the toxic political divisions, and the long overdue awakening to systemic racism call for new thinking, and bold and decisive action to reflect current realities. This is especially true for our most vulnerable children, youth, and families, who must be a priority if our nation is to have hope for a stronger future. Addressing homelessness in the same ways that it has been addressed in the past is a recipe for failure we can ill afford. Specifically, we must prioritize young children, youth, and families, and we must center child and youth serving systems in our response to homelessness. If we do not, we are all but guaranteeing that homelessness will continue for future generations. 

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness recently requested input from stakeholders on revising the federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. As one of the nation’s leading advocacy organizations on child, youth, and family homelessness, SchoolHouse Connection was invited to participate in the first stakeholder call, and also submitted formal written comments. We will continue to advocate for a strategic plan that confronts the realities of child, youth, and family homelessness, centers racial and ethnic equity, and recognizes the core role of early care and education.

71 U.S. Representatives signed a bipartisan “Dear Colleague Letter” requesting support for the McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program and the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) programs in the FY2021 budget. 

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that it was seeking comments on a new study of over $30 billion in federal education spending. The study will examine how local educational agencies and schools use funding they receive under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. SchoolHouse Connection submitted comments urging the Department to include questions in its study about the amount of funds reserved for students experiencing homelessness under Title I Part A, and the use of the reserved funds.

On February 10, 2020, President Trump released his FY2021 budget proposal. The proposal is just that – a proposal. Congress, and in particular the Appropriations Committees, have the power and the responsibility to determine the actual funding that is appropriated each year for federal programs. Please take one minute now to send a letter to your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives to urge them to support the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY program) and Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) programs in the fiscal year 2021 budget.

Many bills on child, youth, and family homelessness were introduced in the first session of the 116th Congress, and will continue to make their way through the legislative process next year. We’ve briefly summarized the status of eight of the bills that impact children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness most directly, starting with SchoolHouse Connection’s top legislative priorities.

On Thursday, December 19, the Senate passed the final FY2020 appropriations bills, H.R. 1158 and H.R. 1865, sending them on to the President for his signature. The two federal programs specifically targeted to support children and youth experiencing homelessness received funding increases in the final legislation, as did other vital early care, education, and housing programs.

On December 10, 2019, the Affordable Housing for Educational Achievement Demonstration Act of 2019 (the AHEAD Act, S. 3011) was introduced to provide funding to help school districts, housing authorities, and community partners to collaborate in unprecedented ways to address children’s education and housing needs in a coordinated fashion. Please take one minute to help school districts, housing authorities and our local communities address the unique needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness.

On November 14, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan resolution introduced by U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), and cosponsored by twelve other U.S. Senators, recognizing November 2019 as “National Homeless Children and Youth Awareness Month.” It is the first resolution to recognize both child and youth homelessness, from infancy to young adulthood.

On Thursday, October 31, the College Affordability Act (H.R. 4674) was voted out of the House Education and Labor Committee by a vote of 28-22. It is a comprehensive reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that also includes many provisions to remove barriers to higher education for youth experiencing homelessness and youth from foster care, including those in the bipartisan Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act (S.789/H.R. 1724), or HEASHFY. Learn more and take action.

On Thursday, September 26, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, introduced the Student Aid Improvement Act of 2019, S.2557. The legislation bundles together eight different bills to amend parts of the Higher Education Act (HEA), including FAFSA and financial aid award letter simplification, as well as Pell Grant expansion. 

On August 14, the Department of Homeland Security published a new Public Charge rule that broadens the definition of “public benefits,” making it more difficult for people to demonstrate that they will not become a public charge. The new rule will be the subject of litigation, and a court is likely to prevent the rule from taking effect immediately. In the unlikely event the rule is not blocked by litigation, it will go into effect on October 15, 2019. The new rule is complex, but here we provide some basic information for schools and families.

On May 9, the House Appropriations Committee passed its FY2020 appropriations bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.The House bill includes $100 million in FY2020 funding for the McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. This represents a 7% increase over the FY2019 level; if enacted, it would represent a 30% increase in EHCY funding since FY2017.

On March 13, 2019, bipartisan, bicameral legislation was introduced to remove barriers to higher education access and success caused by homelessness and foster care. The Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act of 2019 (HEASHFY S.789/H.R.1724) amends the Higher Education Act to simplify eligibility for federal financial aid and to improve outreach, resources, and policies for homeless and foster youth.

On Friday, February 15, the President signed FY2019 appropriations legislation to fund nine federal agencies (funding for other federal agencies was enacted last September).

The 116th Congress convened last week, kicking off a two-year legislative session. A new Congress means new members and new committee assignments -- and, in the case of the U.S. House of Representatives, a new majority. In addition to addressing the urgent need to...

2018 was a momentous year for our work to ensure that local, state, and federal systems recognize and prioritize the needs of children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness. At the federal level, we led efforts to secure: Unprecedented funding increases for...

On Wednesday, October 24, President Trump signed into law bipartisan legislation, H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. The legislation contains many provisions that could help children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness who are impacted by the opioid crisis, as well as provisions to help all children and youth who experience trauma.

On September 26, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6157, the FY2019 appropriations bill for education, early care, and human services. It now moves to the President’s desk for his signature. The measure increases funding for the McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Program by 10%, building on last year’s increase of 10%. This marks the first time in the history of the McKinney-Vento Act that funding for the EHCY program surpasses the authorized funding level.

  Last week, a House-Senate conference committee on FY2019 appropriations struck an agreement to increase federal funding for key education and early care programs. The measure, H.R. 6157, would increase funding for the McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless...

On July 24, 2018, the House Financial Services Committee passed the bipartisan Homeless Children and Youth Act, H.R. 1511. The legislation, co-sponsored by Congressman Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Dave Loebsack (D-IA), may now be considered by the full House of Representatives. A bipartisan Senate companion bill, S. 611, is led by US Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Rob Portman (R-OH).

On June 28, the Senate appropriations committee passed S. 3158, a bill that would increase FY2019 funding for the McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program by 10%, from $85 million to $93.5 million. The bill maintains funding for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) program at $127.3 million. The bill next moves to the Senate floor for a vote.

The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee reached bipartisan agreement on a bill to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. The Committee passed the bill on Tuesday, June 26, sending it to the full Senate for a vote.

The Senate bill contains many provisions that would help youth experiencing homelessness access career and technical education. Most notably, the bill specifies that individuals experiencing homelessness, as defined by the education subtitle of the McKinney-Vento Act, are one of nine “special populations.” The bill provides many additional supports and services to special populations.

  On June 6, the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance held a hearing to review the Homeless Children and Youth Act (H.R. 1511). Witnesses included: Barbara Duffield, Executive Director, SchoolHouse Connection Kat...

Research has found a clear link between parental substance abuse and youth running away from home. Increasingly, these substances are opioids, leading to both family and youth homelessness. On Tuesday, April 24, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)...

Fixing the FAFSA for Homeless Youth: Congress Considers HEA Reauthorization with Testimony from a SHC Leader Image above: Witnesses at the November 27 Senate Committee Hearing on FAFSA Homelessness, lack of education, and poverty are inextricably linked. Recent...

The U.S. Department of Education issued updates to its McKinney-Vento program guidance, including questions on transportation to extra-curricular activities and for students with IEPs, and a clarification on students “awaiting foster care placement.”