H-0583.1

HOUSE BILL 1622

ByRepresentatives Fey, Rude, Simmons, Schmidt, Cortes, Senn, Slatter, Alvarado, Ryu, Wylie, Bergquist, Paul, Gregerson, Morgan, Macri, Pollet, Doglio, Timmons, and Leavitt

AN ACT Relating to supporting the needs of students experiencing homelessness; amending RCW 28A.300.542; and reenacting and amending RCW 43.185C.340.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 28A.300.542 and 2019 c 412 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall create a competitive grant process to evaluate and award state-funded grants to school districts to increase identification of students experiencing homelessness and the capacity of the districts to provide support for students experiencing homelessness. The goals of the grant process are to:

(2)(a) Funds may be used in a manner that is complementary to federal McKinney-Vento funds and consistent with allowable uses as determined by the office of the superintendent of public instruction. The process must complement any similar federal grant program or programs in order to minimize agency overhead and administrative costs for the superintendent of public instruction and school districts.

(3) School districts may access both federal and state funding to identify and support students experiencing homelessness and are encouraged to use grant dollars to leverage community resources and strengthen relationships with community-based partners.

(((2)))(4) Award criteria for the state grants must be based on the demonstrated need of the school district and may consider the number or overall percentage, or both, of homeless children and youths enrolled in preschool, elementary, and secondary schools in the school district, and the ability of the local school district to meet these needs. Award criteria for these must also be based on the quality of the applications submitted. Selected grantees must reflect geographic diversity across the state. Greater weight must be given to districts that demonstrate a commitment to:

(a) Partnering with local ((housing and)) community-based organizations with experience in serving the needs of students experiencing homelessness or students of color, with a preference for organizations that focus on equitable housing and homeless strategies;

(b) Serving the needs of unaccompanied youth; and

(c) Implementing evidence-informed strategies to address the opportunity gap and other systemic inequities that negatively impact students experiencing homelessness and students of color. Specific strategies may include, but are not limited to:

(i) Enhancing the cultural responsiveness of current and future staff;

(ii) Ensuring all staff, faculty, and school employees are actively trained in trauma-informed care;

(iii) Providing inclusive programming by intentionally seeking and utilizing input from the population being served;

(iv) Using a multidisciplinary approach when serving students experiencing homelessness and their families;

(v) Intentionally seeking and utilizing input from the families and students experiencing homelessness about how district policies, services, and practices can be improved; and

(vi) Identifying data elements and systems needed to monitor progress in eliminating disparities in academic outcomes for students experiencing homelessness with their housed peers.

(((3)))(5) At the end of each academic year, districts receiving grants shall monitor and report on the academic outcomes for students served by the grants. The academic outcomes are those recommended by the office of the superintendent of public instruction. The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall review the reports submitted by the districts and assist school districts in using these data to identify gaps and needs, and develop sustainable strategies to improve academic outcomes for students experiencing homelessness.

(((4)))(6) Students experiencing homelessness are defined as students without a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence in accordance with the definition of homeless children and youths in the federal McKinney-Vento homeless assistance act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 11431 through 11435.

(((5)))(7) School districts may not use funds allocated under this section to supplant existing federal, state, or local resources for supports for students experiencing homelessness, which may include education liaisons.

(((6)))(8) Grants awarded to districts under this section may be for two years.

Sec. 2. RCW 43.185C.340 and 2019 c 412 s 2 and 2019 c 325 s 5015 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) Subject to funds appropriated for this specific purpose, the department shall administer a grant program that links students experiencing homelessness and their families with stable housing located in the student's school district. The goals of the program are to:

(a) Provide educational stability for students experiencing homelessness by promoting housing stability; and

(b) Encourage the development of collaborative strategies between housing and education partners.

(2) To ensure that innovative strategies between housing and education partners are developed and implemented, the department may contract and consult with a designated vendor to provide technical assistance and program evaluation, ((and)) assist with making grant awards, and support collaboration between the department and the office of the superintendent of public instruction. If the department contracts with a vendor, the vendor must be selected by the director and:

(a) Be a nonprofit vendor;

(b) Be located in Washington state; and

(c) Have a demonstrated record of working toward the housing and educational stability of students and families experiencing homelessness.

(3) In implementing the program, the department, or the department in partnership with its designated vendor, shall consult with the office of the superintendent of public instruction.

(4)(a) The department, or the designated vendor in consultation with the department, shall develop a competitive grant process to make grant awards to eligible organizations on implementation of the proposal. For the purposes of this subsection, "eligible organization" means any local government, local housing authority, behavioral health administrative services organization established under chapter 71.24 RCW, behavioral health organization, nonprofit community or neighborhood-based organization, federally recognized Indian tribe in the state of Washington, or regional or statewide nonprofit housing assistance organization. Applications for the grant program must include a letter of support from the applicable education partners. Within 60 days of receiving a grant award under this section, a memorandum of understanding must be established between the housing providers and ((school districts))education partners defining the responsibilities and commitments of each party to identify, house, and support students experiencing homelessness. The memorandum must include:

(((a)))(i) How housing providers will partner with ((school districts))education partners to address gaps and needs and develop sustainable strategies to help students experiencing homelessness; and

(((b)))(ii) How data on students experiencing homelessness and their families will be collected and shared in accordance with privacy protections under applicable federal and state laws.

(5) In determining which eligible organizations will receive grants, the department must ensure that selected grantees reflect geographic diversity across the state. Greater weight shall be given to eligible organizations that demonstrate a commitment to:

(a) Partnering with local schools or school districts as demonstrated by a letter of support; and

(b) Developing and implementing evidence-informed strategies to address racial inequities. Specific strategies may include, but are not limited to:

(i) Hiring direct service staff who reflect the racial, cultural, and language demographics of the population being served;

(ii) Committing to inclusive programming by intentionally seeking and utilizing input from the population being served;

(iii) Ensuring eligibility criteria does not unintentionally screen out people of color and further racial inequity; and

(iv) Creating access points in locations frequented by parents, guardians, and unaccompanied homeless youth of color.

(6) Activities eligible for assistance under this grant program include but are not limited to:

(a) Rental assistance, which includes utilities, security and utility deposits, first and last month's rent, rental application fees, moving expenses, and other eligible expenses to be determined by the department;

(b) Transportation assistance, including gasoline assistance for students and families with vehicles and bus passes;

(c) Emergency shelter;

(d) Housing stability case management; and

(e) Other collaborative housing strategies, including prevention and strength-based safety and housing approaches.

(7)(a) All beneficiaries of funds from the grant program must be from households that include at least one student experiencing homelessness as defined as a child or youth without a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence in accordance with the federal McKinney-Vento homeless assistance act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 11431 through 11435.

(b) For the purposes of this section, "student experiencing homelessness" includes unaccompanied homeless youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. "Unaccompanied homeless youth" includes students up to the age of twenty-one, in alignment with the qualifications for school admissions under RCW 28A.225.160(1).

(8)(a) Grantee organizations must compile and report information to the department. The department shall report to the legislature the findings of the grantee, the housing stability of the homeless families, and any related policy recommendations.

(b) Grantees must track and report on the following measures including, but not limited to:

(i) Length of time enrolled in the grant program;

(ii) Housing destination at program exit;

(iii) Type of residence prior to enrollment in the grant program; and

(iv) Number of times homeless in the past three years.

(c) Grantees must also include in their reports a narrative description discussing its partnership with school districts as set forth in the memorandum outlined in subsection (4) of this section. Reports must also include the kinds of supports grantees are providing students and families to support academic learning.

(d) Data on all program participants must be entered into and tracked through the Washington homeless client management information system as described in RCW 43.185C.180.

(9) In order to ensure that housing providers are meeting the requirements of the grant program for students experiencing homelessness, the department, or the department in partnership with its designee, shall monitor the program at least once every two years.

(10) Any program review and monitoring under this section may be conducted concurrently with other program reviews and monitoring conducted by the department. In its review, the department, or the department in partnership with its designee, shall monitor program components that include the process used by the eligible organization to identify and reach out to students experiencing homelessness, and other indicators to determine how well the eligible organization is meeting the housing needs of students experiencing homelessness. The department, or the department in partnership with its designee, shall provide technical assistance and support to housing providers to better implement the program.

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