DOE bid is short ‘site’d

Homeless Web ‘waste’

The Department of Education is facing criticism over its new plan to help homeless students.

It intends to spend millions to expand a “sophisticated” data portal — without having staff who know how to use it.

The nonprofit Advocates for Children released a report Tuesday calling out the DOE over the plan to spend federal funds on the portal and other new online tools.

“The administration’s current proposal for spending millions in federal funding does not address the most fundamental problem, which is that children in shelters are not getting to school in the first place,” said Jennifer Pringle, director of AFC’s Learners in Temporary Housing Project.

Data from the group highlights that kids living in shelters are having a much harder time making it to class this school year than students with stable housing, at an attendance rate of 78.9% compared with 90%.

That rate is not much better than last school year’s numbers, which hovered around 77% — despite the return to classrooms this fall and the better access to school resources that came with it.

The gap is also wider than it was pre-pandemic.

Advocates said the DOE should be spending the cash to invest in staff needed to actually address the barriers these students face to get to school.

‘On-site support’

“That requires on-site support,” said Pringle. “It’s not robotic calls, it’s not emails that turn this around.

“I have no doubt that it is a robust portal. The problem is if there’s no one in a position to use that information, it’s a waste of money.”

The DOE has until the end of the month to submit plans to the state for $24 million in federal dollars — part of $33 million earmarked for homeless students in pandemic recovery funds.

“We are being intentional with all funds to avoid making long-term commitments with short-term resources and continue to work towards removing barriers to success in the lives of our most vulnerable students,” said DOE rep Suzan Sumer.