A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
A public radio investigation has found that schools in the Midwest are struggling to serve students who experience housing instability. That's despite a federal law and federal funding intended to ensure equal access to education for homeless K through 12 students. Kavahn Mansouri joins us now from St Louis to tell us about this investigation. He's a reporter for the Midwest Newsroom. That's a collaboration between public radio stations and NPR. So let's start with an overview of what you found.
KAVAHN MANSOURI, BYLINE: Well, for the last year, we examined the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and how that federal law really falls short. It's supposed to help school districts find ways to assist homeless kids. But among other things, we found the amount of funding is stretched paper-thin nationwide, and how school districts go about identifying students who need support is a struggle in its own right. Our investigation covered Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and the picture is similar in other states.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. So why has that been a challenge?
MANSOURI: Well, because school districts vastly undercount students who are homeless, meaning thousands of - are missing out on support they need to succeed.
MARTÍNEZ: OK, maybe an undercount, but what if a school district knows they have a number of students who need services? I mean, do they get the funding they need under this federal law?
MANSOURI: Not always. Even when school districts know that they have students who need support, they have to go through a competitive grant process to actually receive McKinney-Vento funding. And that's where smaller rural schools really struggle because they often don't have the personnel or expertise to compete for that money. In fact, we found that in the states we looked at, fewer than 5% of the K through 12 school districts actually receive any McKinney-Vento funding. The amount of money available is really low. There's only $129 million annually for more than 4,900 school districts nationwide. On top of that, competition for the money is fierce.
MARTÍNEZ: That money - what does that money actually pay for?
MANSOURI: So most notably, a free ride to and from school and academic support, which are pillars of the McKinney-Vento Act. Students struggling with housing often miss a lot of school due to lack of transportation. That's made worse in rural areas, where your school might be 10 miles away. So consistent transportation and academic help when they miss school is a big part of that. But as I noted, that's not happening in many rural areas we examined.
MARTÍNEZ: Why not?
MANSOURI: It's complex, but the core issue is visibility and training. The smaller a school district is, the less likely they are to have the resources and know-how to identify a student who's struggling with housing. Barbara Duffield runs a nonprofit organization called SchoolHouse Connection. It helps school districts and states better connect to improve the likelihood students get those services.
BARBARA DUFFIELD: The challenge is almost circular. You don't see the students, so you don't think that they're there, so you don't set aside enough funding to have the capacity to go out and find the students.
MANSOURI: And the people in charge of identifying that a student needs aid at smaller schools often are wearing many hats. One state official told us about an assistant superintendent in charge of identifying McKinney-Vento-eligible students while he drove a bus, worked the lunch line and mopped the floors.
MARTÍNEZ: Wow, that's tough. Anything being done to help improve this system?
MANSOURI: There is bipartisan support to increase funding for homeless education but little actual movement. Through the American Rescue Plan Act, Congress made about $800 million in federal funds available to school districts across the country to aid homeless students. But again, my recent reporting shows school districts struggle to obtain and spend that money nationwide. And since millions of dollars went unspent, it's likely to be returned to the U.S. Treasury.
MARTÍNEZ: Quickly - you mentioned bipartisan support. What does that look like?
MANSOURI: Several members of Congress have signed a letter that basically says that more money needs to go towards this, but it's - not much movement's been made to increase the actual budget for this in the past several years.
MARTÍNEZ: Kavahn Mansouri reports for the Midwest Newsroom. That's a collaboration between public radio stations at NPR. Thank you very much.
MANSOURI: It's my pleasure.
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