Push for Blaz to aid homeless students

AS THE city’s schools struggle with a crisis of homeless students, advocates and elected officials are mounting a fresh push for Mayor de Blasio to fund needed services.

A record 111,562 city students were homeless or living in temporary housing in the 2016-17 school year, up nearly 67% from 66,931 in the 2009-10 school year.

Homeless students are more likely to have behavior issues and learning disabilities. And they lag behind their peers when it comes to academics and attendance.

But de Blasio didn’t include any dedicated funding for programs to aid them in his $89 billion preliminary budget for fiscal year 2019 released Feb. 1.

Advocates and elected officials say that’s not acceptable. And they’re calling on de Blasio to include funding for the programs when the budget is finalized in June. A group of 30 City Council members signed a letter sent to de Blasio on Monday that calls for at least $30.3 million for social workers, tutors and other measures to support homeless kids.

That’s nearly a threefold increase from $10.3 million that de Blasio budgeted for students living in shelters in 2017 and 2018.

But the Council members who signed the letter think the extra funding is needed.

“Students who are homeless have worse educational outcomes,” the letter says. “Our city must provide more support to students who are homeless.”

The letter calls for the creation of a Deputy Chancellor’s Office for Highly Mobile Students, including students in temporary housing and students in foster care.

“With more than 100,000 students who are homeless, we have a crisis situation that demands more resources,” said City Council Education Committee Chairman Mark Treyger, who signed the letter.

Advocates for Children policy coordinator Randi Levine said her group also backs the push for more homeless resources.

De Blasio spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein said the mayor plans to restore $10.3 million in funding for homeless students to the budget before it is finalized. But she said the extra $20 million sought by homeless allies isn’t happening.