Federal and state grant funding is available to districts on a competitive and/or formula basis. These supplemental funds are designed to support districts with identification, enrollment, and services for public school students living in homeless situations. Learn more about the federal McKinney-Vento Act Grant, the state Homeless Student Stability education Program (HSSeP) Grant, and the American Rescue Plan-Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) grant.

American Rescue Plan-Homeless Children & Youth

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) provided an unprecedented $800 million to support the specific and urgent needs of homeless children and youth in recognition of the extraordinary impact of the pandemic on students experiencing homelessness through the ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief – Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) Fund. These grant funds have been disseminated to local districts based on a formula provided by the US Department of Education to facilitate the identification, enrollment, retention, and educational success of homeless children and youth. A variety of resources have been made available to provide districts with guidance, best practices, and ideas related to using these funds effectively.

McKinney-Vento Act

The federal McKinney-Vento Act Grant is a competitive grant available to school districts that serve students experiencing homelessness. Funds are used to provide services and activities to improve the identification of homeless children and youths (including preschool-aged homeless children) and enable such children and youths to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school, including, if appropriate, in preschool programs.

Homeless Student Stability Education Program

The state Homeless Student Stability education Program (HSSeP) Grant is an additional competitive grant opportunity available to increase districts’ capacity to identify and support student experiencing homelessness; prioritizing districts that reflect geographic diversity within the state. Funds are complementary to McKinney-Vento Act dollars with greater weight given to districts that demonstrate a commitment to:

• Partnering with local housing and community-based organizations
• Serving the needs of unaccompanied youth
• And, implementing evidence-informed strategies to address the opportunity gap and other systemic inequities that negatively impact students experiencing homelessness and students of color.

Districts may access both federal and state funding to support students experiencing homelessness, however HSSeP funding must be supplemental in nature, and not supplant Title I or McKinney Vento funding allocated for the same purpose.