42 U.S.C. § 11432 — Grants for State and local activities for the education of homeless children and youths

(a) General authority. The Secretary^* may give grants to States under this section so they can carry out subsections (d) through (g).

(b) Grants from allotments. The Secretary must make these grants from the allotments under subsection (c)(1).

(c) Allocation and reservations. (1)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary may allot each State^* the same proportion of the yearly amount appropriated under section 11435, after reservations under paragraph (2) and funds used under section 11434(d) and (h), as the State’s allocation under section 1122 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act bears to all States’ allocations under that section. No State may receive less than the greatest of—(i) $150,000; (ii) one-fourth of one percent of the amount appropriated under section 11435; or (iii) what the State received under this section for fiscal year 2001. (B) If there is not enough money to give every State its minimum, the Secretary must reduce every State’s allotment proportionally, based on its share under this subsection in the prior fiscal year. (2)(A) The Secretary may reserve 0.1 percent of each year’s section 11435 appropriation for the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands, divided according to their need as the Secretary determines. (B)(i) The Secretary must transfer 1 percent of each year’s section 11435 appropriation to the Interior Department for programs for Indian students served by schools funded by the Interior Secretary under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, if consistent with this part’s purposes. (ii) The two Secretaries must agree on distribution and use under terms that best meet those purposes. The agreement must state the Interior Secretary’s plans, including goals, objectives, and milestones. (3) “State” does not include the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or the Northern Mariana Islands. This subsection does not otherwise define the quoted term.

(d) Activities. Grants must be used—(1) to carry out section 11431’s policy in the State; (2) to improve identification of homeless children and youths^*, including preschool children, and help them enroll^* in, attend, and succeed in school or preschool when appropriate; (3) to establish or designate a State educational agency^* Office of the Coordinator for Education of Homeless^* Children and Youths able to perform subsection (f)’s duties; (4) to prepare and carry out the State plan in subsection (g); and (5) to develop professional development for subsection (g)(1)(J)(ii) liaisons and other local educational agency^* personnel—(A) to improve identification; and (B) to increase awareness of, and ability to respond to, homeless children’s and youths’ education needs.

(e) State and local subgrants. (1) Each State educational agency must distribute at least 75 percent of its grant to local educational agencies as subgrants for section 11433, except a State funded at the subsection (c)(1) minimum must distribute at least 50 percent. (2) The State agency may use the remainder directly, or through grants or contracts, for subsection (f) activities. (3)(A) Except for subparagraph (B) and section 11433(a)(2)(B)(ii), a State receiving funds may not educate a homeless child or youth in a separate school or separate in-school program because the child or youth is homeless. (B) A State may receive funds for a separate school for homeless children or youths operated in fiscal year 2000 in a covered county only if—(i) the school meets (C); (ii) each relevant local educational agency meets (E); and (iii) the State otherwise qualifies. (C) The school must—(i) when a child or youth seeks enrollment^* and at least twice each year while enrolled, give the parent or guardian, or unaccompanied youth^*, understandable written notice that is signed by that person, states general rights under this part, specifically states the available school choices; that attendance at a separate school is not required; that comparable services under subsection (g)(4), including transportation, education, and meals, will be provided; and that school personnel should not stigmatize homeless students; and gives local-liaison and State-Coordinator contact information; (ii) help the parent, guardian, or youth exercise the school choice and coordinate with the selected school’s local agency for transportation and other needed services; (iii) provide the information understandably, including, when needed and feasible, in the person’s native language; and (iv) show in its application that it is doing (i) and (ii) and meets the same Federal and State standards, regulations, and mandates as other public schools, including section 1111 and a full range of education and related services for students with disabilities. (D) A separate school that fails those standards is ineligible for funds after the first date of failure. (E) The relevant local agency must—(i) operate a coordinated system ensuring homeless children and youths are told their school choices, immediately enrolled in the chosen school under subsection (g)(3)(C), and promptly given subsection (g)(4) services, including transportation; (ii) document the written notices required by (C)(i) and subsection (g)(6)(A)(vi); (iii) prohibit schools from referring homeless students to, or requiring them to attend, the separate school; (iv) identify and remove barriers that may have helped create or maintain separate schools; and (v) not use this part’s funds for new separate schools or new sites, except the existing fiscal-year-2000 sites. (F)(i) The Secretary must report on funded separate schools and agencies, including compliance, school-access barriers, progress toward integrating homeless students into mainstream schools and the average enrollment length, and progress toward the same challenging State standards. (ii) The schools and agencies must cooperate with the Secretary and State Coordinator and answer information requests. (iii) The Secretary must send the report to the President, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (G) “Covered county” means San Joaquin, Orange, or San Diego County, California, or Maricopa County, Arizona.

(f) Functions of the Office of the Coordinator. The State Coordinator must—(1) gather and make public reliable, valid, comprehensive information about—(A) the number of identified homeless children and youths, posted yearly on the State agency website; (B) their problems accessing public preschool, elementary, and secondary schools; (C) difficulties identifying their special needs and barriers to participation and achievement; (D) State and local progress in addressing those problems; and (E) program success in identifying homeless children and youths and helping them enroll, attend, and succeed; (2) develop and carry out the State plan; (3) collect and send the Secretary, at the required time and in the required manner, a report assessing the State’s educational needs, including data needed for section 11434(h); (4) to improve comprehensive education and related services, coordinate and collaborate with—(A) educators, including teachers, special-education staff, administrators, and child-development and preschool staff; (B) providers including child-welfare and social-service agencies, law enforcement, juvenile and family courts, mental-health and domestic-violence agencies, child-care providers, runaway and homeless-youth centers, and Runaway and Homeless Youth Act providers; (C) emergency, transitional, and permanent housing providers, including public housing agencies, shelters, transitional-housing operators, and transitional-living programs; (D) local liaisons; and (E) community organizations representing homeless children, youths, and families; (5) with local liaisons, provide technical help and monitor local agencies for compliance with subsection (e)(3) and paragraphs (3)-(7) of subsection (g); (6) provide professional development to local personnel and liaisons on identifying and meeting needs, and train liaisons on the homelessness terms in sections 11302, 11360, and 11434a; and (7) answer parents’ and guardians’ questions, and unaccompanied youths’ questions, so each child or youth receives this part’s protections and services.

(g) State plan. (1) A State seeking a grant must have its State educational agency submit a plan for educating homeless children and youths. The plan must include—(A) how they will have the chance to meet the same challenging State standards as all students; (B) how the State will identify them and assess needs; (C) prompt dispute resolution for educational placement; (D) awareness programs for school personnel, including liaisons, principals and other leaders, attendance officers, teachers, enrollment staff, and specialized instructional support staff, about homeless students’ specific needs, including runaway and homeless youths; (E) procedures allowing eligible homeless children and youths to join Federal, State, or local nutrition programs; (F) procedures ensuring—(i) homeless children access public preschool on the same basis as other State children; (ii) youths described in section 11434a(2) and youths separated from public schools are identified and receive equal access to suitable secondary education and support services, including removal of barriers to credit for satisfactorily completed full or partial prior coursework; and (iii) eligible homeless children and youths face no barriers to academic or extracurricular programs, including magnet, summer, career and technical, advanced-placement, online-learning, and charter programs when available; (G) strategies addressing problems in the subsection (f)(3) report; (H) strategies addressing other problems, including enrollment delays caused by immunization or other health records, residency rules, missing birth or school records or other documents, guardianship, or uniform and dress-code rules; (I) proof that State and local agencies made, and will review and revise, policies removing barriers to identification, enrollment, and retention, including barriers from unpaid fees, fines, or absences; (J) assurances that—(i) State and local agencies will prevent stigma and segregation based on homelessness; (ii) each local agency will designate an appropriate person able to perform paragraph (6)(A)’s duties as liaison, who may coordinate other Federal programs; (iii) State and local agencies will provide transportation, when a parent or guardian requests it, or a liaison requests it for an unaccompanied youth, to and from the school of origin under these rules: (I) if the child or youth remains in the origin agency’s area, that agency provides or arranges transportation; (II) if the origin living arrangement ends and the child or youth lives in another agency’s area while staying in the origin school, both agencies agree how to divide responsibility and costs, and if they cannot agree they share them equally; (iv) agencies will allow liaisons to participate in professional development and technical assistance under subsection (f)(5) and (6), as the Office decides is appropriate; and (K) how counselors will advise youths described in section 11434a(2) and prepare them for college. (2)(A) The plan must explain how the State will ensure local agencies comply with paragraphs (3)-(7). (B) It must state what technical help the State will give and how compliance will be coordinated with local liaisons. (3)(A) Each local agency serving a child or youth must act in the child’s or youth’s best interest by either—(i) continuing the child’s or youth’s education in the school of origin while homeless, including through the end of the school year if the family became homeless between or during school years, and through the rest of the school year if the child or youth becomes permanently housed during it; or (ii) enrolling the child or youth in the public school available to nonhomeless students living in the actual attendance area. (B) To decide best interest, the agency must—(i) presume the origin school is best unless the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth asks otherwise; (ii) consider student-centered factors, including mobility’s effects on achievement, education, health, and safety, while giving priority to that request; (iii) if it chooses neither the origin school nor the school requested, give an understandable written explanation and appeal information; and (iv) for an unaccompanied youth, have the liaison assist in placement or enrollment, prioritize the youth’s views, and give appeal notice. (C)(i) The chosen school must immediately enroll the child or youth even without normally required records, including academic, immunization, health, residency, or other documents, or after missed deadlines during homelessness. (ii) It must immediately contact the last school for academic and other records. (iii) If immunizations or health records are needed, it must immediately refer the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth to the liaison, who must help obtain immunizations, screenings, and records under (D). (D) The school must keep ordinary records, including health, academic, birth, guardianship, and special-service records, so they are timely available when the student enters another school or district and in a way consistent with section 1232g of title 20. (E) If there is an eligibility, school-choice, or enrollment dispute—(i) immediately enroll the child or youth in the requested school while the dispute and appeals are resolved; (ii) give the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth a written explanation of decisions and appeal rights; (iii) refer the matter to the liaison for the paragraph (1)(C) dispute process as quickly as possible; and (iv) for an unaccompanied youth, ensure immediate enrollment in the requested school during the dispute. (F) Placement choice applies whether the child or youth lives with homeless parents or has been temporarily placed elsewhere. (G) Information about living arrangements is a student education record, not directory information, under section 1232g. (H) This part does not stop a local agency from requiring contact information. (I) “School of origin” means the school attended when permanently housed or last enrolled, including preschool. When the student completes its final grade, it also includes the designated receiving school at the next grade for all feeder schools.

(4) Comparable services. Each assisted homeless child or youth must receive services comparable to those offered to other students at the selected school, including transportation; eligible educational services such as title I or similar State or local programs, disability programs, and English-learner programs; career and technical education; gifted and talented programs; and school nutrition programs.

(5) Coordination. (A) Each assisted local agency must coordinate these services with local social-service agencies and other providers serving homeless children, youths, and families, including Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs, and coordinate transportation, school-record transfers, and other interdistrict activities with other local agencies. (B) When applicable, State and local agencies must coordinate with housing agencies responsible for the comprehensive housing-affordability strategy in section 12705 to minimize educational disruption. (C) The coordination must promptly identify homeless children and youths, give them access to and reasonable proximity to education and related services, and increase school and provider awareness of shelter stays and other homelessness challenges. (D) For students also served under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or section 794 of title 29, the local agency must coordinate this part’s services with disability programs provided by it and other involved agencies.

(6) Local educational agency liaison. (A) Each liaison must ensure—(i) identification through school outreach and coordination; (ii) enrollment and a full and equal chance to succeed; (iii) access to eligible education, including Head Start and Early Head Start, IDEA part C early intervention, and other local preschool programs; (iv) referrals to health, dental, mental-health, substance-abuse, housing, and other suitable services; (v) that parents and guardians know educational opportunities and have meaningful chances to participate; (vi) understandable public notice of rights in schools, shelters, libraries, soup kitchens, and other frequented places, including notice to unaccompanied youths; (vii) mediation of enrollment disputes under paragraph (3)(E); (viii) full information and help with all transportation, including transportation to the origin school; (ix) professional development and support for school personnel; and (x) that unaccompanied youths—(I) enroll; (II) have opportunities to meet the same challenging State standards, including through paragraph (1)(F)(ii); and (III) are told they are independent students under section 1087vv and may get liaison help verifying that status for the FAFSA described in section 1090 of title 20. (B) State Coordinators and local agencies must tell school staff, providers, advocates, parents, guardians, homeless children, youths, and unaccompanied youths what liaisons do and publish an annually updated liaison list on the State agency website. (C) Liaisons must coordinate with State Coordinators and community and school personnel providing services, including collecting and giving the State Coordinator reliable, valid, comprehensive data needed for subsection (f)(1) and (3). (D) A trained liaison under subsection (f)(6) may affirm, without further HUD action, that an eligible child, youth, or immediate family member participating in a local program and meeting this chapter’s eligibility requirements for a subchapter IV program or service is eligible for that program or service.

(7) Review and revisions. (A) State and assisted local agencies must review and revise policies that may block identifying homeless children and youths or enrolling them in schools selected under paragraph (3). (B) They must consider transportation, immunization, residency, birth certificates, school records and other documents, and guardianship. (C) They must give special attention to identifying, enrolling, and ensuring attendance of homeless children and youths who are not attending school.