Half a million dollars coming to state to support homeless students

On Monday, New Hampshire will receive the first installment of American Rescue Plan money that has been earmarked for homeless students. New Hampshire will receive nearly $2.3 million in total. The state will receive an initial distribution of $573,993, and the remainder will be delivered as soon as June.

The money will be used to help identify homeless children in the state and provide comprehensive services related to COVID-19. The funding will also go to help homeless students attend school and participate in school-related activities, as in-person instruction resumes in the spring.  

Across the country, inequity in the school system has worsened during the pandemic, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said.

“As districts and schools return to in-person learning, we must act with urgency to provide all students, including students experiencing homelessness, equitable access to high-quality learning environments and the resources to help meet their basic needs which schools often provide,” he said.

In the 2018-2019 school year, there were more than 4,000 homeless students enrolled in New Hampshire K-12 schools. The number of homeless students enrolled in school has risen slightly in recent years, up from 3,913 in 2016, according to the National Center for Homeless Education.