Homeless students in Alaska, nationally could lose access to added aid

The halls are lined pinch lockers and portraits of elders astatine nan Anna Tobeluk Memorial School successful Nunapitchuk, Alaska. October 12, 2023. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska schoolhouse districts consequence losing entree to up to respective 100 1000 dollars successful national backing aimed astatine bum students if they aren’t capable to perpetrate to spending it by nan extremity of September.

The money was included successful a national rule providing pandemic relief, and nationalist advocates person been pushing for Congress to widen nan deadline, arsenic it became clear that money could spell unspent.

The nonstop magnitude Alaska districts could suffer isn’t clear. Alaska districts person spent astir 70% of their $2.3 cardinal boost, leaving much than $700,000 unspent, according to the national information updated connected Aug. 1. The Department of Education and Early Childhood did not respond to a petition for nan astir up-to-date fig aliases whether districts are on-track to walk down nan balances.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, worked connected an amendment to nan 2021 American Rescue Plan that secured $800 cardinal nationally for students experiencing homelessness nationwide. Alaska districts received astir 8 times their accustomed yearly funding.

The National Conference of State Legislatures called connected Congress to widen nan timeline to walk nan money, nether nan position of a longstanding national law, known arsenic the McKinney Vento Act, aimed astatine ensuring bum children’s entree to schooling.

Barbara Duffield, nan executive head of nan nationalist defense group SchoolHouse Connection, said nan NCSL’s solution is significant, moreover if it is apt excessively precocious for an hold from Congress.

“The model for that extension, sadly, has gone,” Duffield said. “Not for a valiant and a smart and a celebrated fight, but because of each these different dysfunctions successful Congress.”

She said nan solution did much than inquire for an extension; it showed nan value of nan backing crossed states and territories.

“It puts a assemblage of authorities legislators connected grounds arsenic saying we should person had much time. And moving forward, location needs to beryllium much of a privilege successful investing successful this population,” Duffield said.

The astir caller authorities information shows that more than 3,000 Alaska students are homeless, and that nan number has risen complete nan past respective years. Most of those students unrecorded pinch different family, but astir a 5th unrecorded successful shelters and 10% are unsheltered.

Increased backing and programs typically leads districts to place much students who are homeless, according to SchoolHouse Connection’s research. That information shows that nan existent number of students that are bum is typically 50-100% much than nan charismatic schoolhouse count.

School districts successful Anchorage and Kenai utilized nan money to bring connected further unit to activity pinch unhoused students. The Child successful Transition Program successful nan Anchorage School District utilized its further backing to prosecute 2 full-time unit for distant sites and 5 part-time unit successful precocious schools that are location to support students connected field and link them to services. David Mayo-Kiely runs nan program, which has operated since nan 1990s and has 10 unit members.

“They cheque successful connected attendance, they cheque successful connected grades. They’re conscionable benignant of location to beryllium different state for these students, personification they tin spell to,” he said.

Those roles are important because of really homelessness tin negatively impact students astatine school. Students who are bum are chronically absent astatine roughly twice the complaint of their housed peers, which is known to beryllium detrimental to world performance. They are besides astir 30% little apt to postgraduate than their housed peers, according to nan National Center for Homeless Education.

ASD’s programme besides spent money connected net basking spots for students, master improvement for nan staff, and supplies. Mayo-Kiely said nan territory will time off only a very mini magnitude of money unspent.

“The backing has been awesome for us,” he said. “We were willing successful having an extended funding, but we had been readying nan full clip that this backing would beryllium expiring by nan extremity of this almanac year.”

And he said nan backing will person a lasting effect, moreover though it expires astatine nan extremity of nan year: The finance successful unit demonstrated really important those on-campus “allies” were for students, truthful now nan territory is utilizing money from different assistance programs to proceed backing them.

The NCSL resolution that urged Congress to widen nan deadline was a privilege of Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage and chair of nan Senate Education Committee, aft nan Alaska Legislature grounded to walk a akin solution drafted by her office. Tobin is simply a personnel of nan NCSL Education Standing Committee.

“Our dream pinch this solution is to say, ‘Could we proceed to usage McKinley-Vento costs successful this mode — hiring further support unit to supply wraparound services for nan full family?’ and besides for america to deliberation astir really we mightiness beryllium capable to reserve immoderate of nan remaining costs to proceed serving students into nan FY25-26 schoolhouse year,” she said.

The backing that came pinch nan pandemic boost besides has much elastic spending rules that mean districts tin walk it connected student proscription to nan aforesaid school, moreover if nan student’s reside changes — specified arsenic if they move successful pinch a friend’s family aliases statesman surviving successful a shelter. Districts tin waive definite enrollment requirements temporarily to make judge nan student starts connected time, and moreover thief pinch schoolhouse supplies.

“We person a important summation successful younker experiencing homelessness that has persisted, and we cognize that it’s not going to beryllium an easy fix,” Tobin said. “Particularly pinch nan deficiency of affordable lodging successful nan Anchorage bowl, pinch immoderate of nan instability and debased wages successful immoderate of those introduction and mid-level positions. So we’re really anticipating that this organization is going to proceed to request further resources and attention.”