Time Ran Out – Pennsylvania Losing Millions to Serve Students Experiencing Homelessness

Forty-eight charter schools and the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) will lose $3 million in support for the thousands of students and their families who experience homelessness during the school year. The Commonwealth will lose the capacity built by the American Rescue Plan’s $32 million investment.  
 
Despite public hearings, countless meetings, direct discussions with policymakers, and multiple policy briefs framing the issue, no legislative body answered the call to use local funds to support homeless students.  
 
Every legislator on both sides of the aisle says they support homeless students, but only Rep. Ismail Wade Smith-El of Lancaster County and Philadelphia Representative Donna Bullock publicly stepped up to keep the new capacity going.  
 
The Commonwealth and its schools will revert to the federal $5 million for the 500+ school districts and charters to support more than 40,000 children and youth who experience homelessness.  
 
Yes, we are extremely disappointed.  ​

​Background: More than $32 million was given to Pennsylvania, with $3 to $6 million going to Philadelphia, was provided through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds via Pennsylvania’s ‘Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness’ (ECYEH) program. The schools expanded their capacity to provide staffing, train school personnel, and provide direct services like short-term housing support, uniforms, transportation, motel stays, summer programming, school supplies, and more.  
 
In 2022, Philadelphia’s schools served 5,866 children and youth as homeless and, anecdotally, we hear a higher number of these students will be supported this year. [This year’s numbers will not be known until next year.]  
 
The ECYEH program is the only federal education program that removes barriers to enrollment, attendance, reduces truancy, and success caused by homelessness. The challenge is that the APR dollars disappear after this year to maintain the capacity to serve students experiencing homelessness. There are no new funds expected and neither the state nor the city supplements the federal fund with their ‘General Funds.’  
 
HopePHL worked with Valley Youth House, Philly Homes 4 Youth, PHMC, Eddie’s House, Allegheny county’s Homeless Education Children’s Fund and more than a dozen agencies across the state to advocate on this issue.  
 
In one perspective, we failed to convince policy makers. That is on us. We failed. For now. We will continue this fight because our children need support.  
 
ACTION ALERT: Thank our key legislators for stepping up for our children:  
Rep Ismail Smith-Wade-El [email protected].  
Rep. Donna Bullock [email protected] 
 
Look this summer for our work. That will include a public hearing in Philadelphia, new policy briefs, and a recruitment drive to increase the number of allies.