Buses required for homeless students

The plaintiffs’ lawyers noted yesterday that the federal definition of a “homeless” child—one who lacks “fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence”—includes some 20,000 children in Hawaiʻi who live “doubled up” with friends or family because their families cannot afford a place of their own.

At the time the suit was filed, the DOE said it recognized “908 homeless children as enrolled in school, of which there are 532 children living in shelters, 156 unsheltered children, 19 children living ‘doubled up’ (with other families) and 201 children whose primary nighttime residence is ‘unknown.’”

But the ACLU complaint said the actual numbers are larger.

“The precise number of homeless families and children is difficult to calculate due to their mobility, their lack of permanent residence and their reluctance to disclose their housing situation due to the social stigma associated with homelessness,” the complaint said.

Bennett said the state already secured legislative appropriations to pay $185,000 in fees and costs to the attorneys who filed the suit.

The suit, filed by the ACLU, the Lawyers for Equal Justice and the law firm Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing, alleged that the state failed to carry out a section of federal law called the McKinney-Vento Act, which requires state and local school districts to help homeless children receive educational services.

As part of that, the DOE receives more than $200,000 annually in federal funds specifically earmarked to help transport homeless children to and from schools.