Bacon, Lee, Panetta Lead Bipartisan Push Urging Permanent Retainment of Dept. of Ed Staff Serving Students Experiencing Homelessness and Foster Care
Text of Letter (PDF)
Washington – Today, Representative Don Bacon (NE-02) led a bipartisan letter with Reps. Summer L. Lee (PA-12) and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) to the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Department of Education urging the permanent retainment of staff in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) who administer programs serving students experiencing homelessness and students in foster care.
The letter follows widespread reduction-in-force (RIF) notices issued during the government shutdown that reportedly fired almost all OESE workers, including the staff who administer the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. Although the shutdown RIF has since been reversed, the lawmakers are concerned that the Department is working to gut the EHCY program and stressed that reinstating workers temporarily is not sufficient. The Department, the lawmakers emphasize, must restore—and retain—the specialized personnel who ensure states and districts can meet their legal obligations to students.
“About 1.4 million students in the U.S. experience homelessness each school year and about 270,000 school-aged children and youth are in foster care. Beyond the challenges of meeting their basic needs, these students face unique barriers to education including difficulty enrolling in school without a fixed address or necessary documentation, lack of transportation, frequently changing schools, and chronic absenteeism,” the lawmakers wrote. “Federal programs administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, like the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program, are one of few lifelines for children experiencing homelessness.”
The letter notes that without OESE’s specialized staff—including those supporting the EHCY program—states and districts cannot fully implement federal protections (McKinney-Vento) or effectively utilize Title I, Part A set-asides for students experiencing homelessness. The members underscore Congress’s bipartisan support for EHCY, with both chambers proposing $129 million for FY 2026, and argue that permanent staffing is essential to deliver on that commitment.
“Without these workers, the Department of Education will be unable to fulfill its legal responsibilities under Section 724 of the McKinney-Vento Act, which protects access to education for students experiencing homelessness. Without these workers, states and districts will be unequipped to implement EHCY funding and other critical support that students are entitled to,” the lawmakers continued. “As a result, over one million children and youth may lose access to the educational services they rely on as an essential source of stability.”
The letter is signed by Representatives Nanette Barragán, Salud Carbajal, André Carson, Greg Casar, Judy Chu, Emanuel Cleaver, Danny Davis, Madeleine Dean, Dwight Evans, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chrissy Houlahan, Glenn Ivey, Jonathan Jackson, Hank Johnson, Seth Magaziner, Gwen Moore, Kevin Mullin, Jerrold Nadler, Brittany Pettersen, Mike Quigley, Delia Ramirez, Darren Soto, Marilyn Strickland, Shri Thanedar, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, and Gabe Vasquez.
The letter is endorsed by SchoolHouse Connection and the Homeless Children’s Education Fund.
“Ensuring that children who are homeless or who enter foster care can stay in school is not a partisan issue. Restoring the small, specialized team at the U.S. Department of Education that helps states and school districts carry out these protections is a practical, bipartisan step that honors the law Congress passed. We are deeply grateful for the bipartisan leadership of Representatives Lee, Panetta, and Bacon in calling for the permanent reinstatement of these positions and stand ready to work with the Administration and leaders in both parties to make sure these students are not left behind,” said Barbara Duffield, Executive Director of SchoolHouse Connection.
"Students experiencing homelessness and foster care face unique challenges every day and the dedicated federal workers supporting them are critical to ensuring these children have access to stable, equitable education. We urge the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Education to permanently reinstate these essential positions. These students cannot afford to lose the advocates who fight for their success," said AJ Jefferson, president and CEO of Homeless Children's Education Fund, expressing her concern.
Full letter text is available here.
