The National Center for Homeless Education Quarterly Resource Round-Up
December 2024
As we close out 2024, we are excited to share NCHE's first Quarterly Resource Round-Up - a curated collection of resources and updates within the field of homeless education. Before diving in, we want to extend our warmest wishes to you this holiday season. We deeply appreciate your dedication to supporting students experiencing homelessness and look forward to partnering with you in the new year.
NCHE Updates
Team Safal (Safal Partners, ICF, and Pearl Strategies) is now managing the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE). Our team is excited to continue to support the field of homeless education and our local, state, regional, and national stakeholders.
NCHE Helpline
The NCHE helpline is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM ET. You can email us at NCHE.helpline@safalpartners.com or call 1-305-306-8495.
ED's Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) issued a playbook of strategies to help highly mobile students (including those experiencing homelessness, in foster care, or from military/migrant families) access and succeed in career-connected learning programs.
ED officially released the 2025-26 FAFSA form 10 days before its December 1st goal, and the form is available to all students and families at fafsa.org.
SchoolHouse Connection offers a customizable email template to notify students about FAFSA availability and provide clear guidance on completing their applications.
This resource, also from SchoolHouse Connection, outlines how Title 1, Part A and McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) funds can be used to address barriers to attendance through various interventions, including transportation, basic needs support, and mental health services.
SchoolHouse Connection's Q3 2024 state policy update highlights legislative priorities on youth homelessness across several states. Notable achievements include California's passage of AB 2165 mandating FAFSA completion guidelines and Michigan's advancement of bills to expand shelter provider services for homeless youth from 24 to 72 hours.
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Training, Technical Assistance, and Capacity Building Center (RHYTTAC) has a resource library of carefully curated materials for organizations that work with young people who have run away and/or are impacted by homelessness.
This recently released guide, published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJPD), offers strategies for partnering between youth justice agencies and youth and families.
This comprehensive NCHE report provides critical insights into student homelessness across U.S. public schools through the analysis of EDFacts data. The summary examines year-to-year trends from 2020-21 through 2022-23, including total identification numbers (which increased to 1,374,537 students in 2022-23, representing 2.8% of all enrolled students), demographic data, and primary nighttime residence data. The report also analyzes chronic absenteeism rates (48% in 2022-23) and adjusted cohort graduation rates for students experiencing homelessness (ranging from 45% to 86% across states). Finally, this report provides state-level data on subgroups, including English learners, students with disabilities, and unaccompanied youth, making it a valuable resource for data-driven program planning and implementation.
In October 2024, a policy update was made to the Job Corps program that allows expedited enrollment to remove barriers for individuals experiencing homelessness and other designations. Unaccompanied homeless youth (using the McKinney-Vento definition of homelessness) can enroll in Job Corps without consent from a parent or guardian (see page 7). Find a Job Corps program near you.
For the 2025-26 FAFSA, individuals without an SSN will be able to complete the Attestation and Validation of Identity form through an online StudentAid.gov account. In addition, the number of acceptable forms of identification without an SSN has been expanded from 10 options to over 30.
This non-regulatory guidance was jointly published by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and provides information on the Title I, Part A educational stability provisions for students in foster care. "Section N: Students Experiencing Homelessness" clarifies the relationship between foster care and homeless education services and emphasizes the importance of coordinating services between programs, especially during transitions.
Funding Award Announcements
Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) Round 8 The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $72 million to fund 14 communities for Round 8 of the YHDP. NCHE has provided education-focused technical assistance to YHDP cohort sites since Round 2, elevating the importance of including education in plans to address youth and young adult homelessness.
In October 2024, the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) announced that ten Runaway and Homeless Youth providers from across the country will receive $3.4 million to support the design and delivery of community-based demonstration programs to prevent youth homelessness.
A Note from ED: Data Changes
A 60-day public comment period for the three-year EDFacts Information Collection packages, available at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/ED-2024-SCC-0142/document ends on January 27, 2025. In Attachment D on pp. 8-9 are questions about SEA and LEA capacity to track EHCY-funded staff FTE, including contractors, and a proposal to collect initial EHCY subgrant award amounts and a greater range of subgrants statuses for LEAs served by regional grantees, receiving direct grants from SEA set-asides or that are members or lead LEAs of consortia.
