Thirty-fourth Middlesex District State Rep. Christine Barber.

By Louise Carpenter

During the House budget debate this week, State Representative Christine P. Barber, who represents Somerville and Medford, successfully added an amendment to create a new commission to examine the costs and challenges of transporting homeless students in the Commonwealth. Currently, school districts provide and fund transportation services for homeless students through a federal requirement. This often comes as a struggle for school districts whose budgets are already stretched, as federal and state funds often do not cover the costs incurred to transport students from hotels and motels far from their original school district. And for children, this disjointed system can mean long bus rides and complicated schedules.

“Keeping students who become homeless in their original schools is one of the major points of stability in a child’s life,” said Rep. Barber. “Our school districts have worked to make the challenging system of transporting kids from shelters work over the years, but this commission will address will address some of the larger issues, like transportation procurement, to better serve students and improve the system.”

Working with Medford School Committee member Erin DiBenedetto, Rep. Barber drafted this budget amendment to look at the issue more closely and develop solutions. With the support of eighteen cosponsors, the amendment was included in the Education and Local Aid consolidated amendment, and adopted unanimously by the House on Monday. The amendment establishes an 11 member commission that includes members of the House and Senate, the Commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Commissioner of the Department of Transitional Assistance, as well as representatives from a transportation company and an organization that serves homeless families.

“Medford has been working hard to address challenges faced by homeless children,” said School Committee member DiBenedetto. “This amendment will help our school district manage transportation and costs. Our goal is to help keep these families in stable environments.”

The purpose of the commission will be to review costs and challenges to funding homeless student transportation services, and to make recommendations on how to improve this system. Before July 2017, the commission will create a report that will include a review of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act, a budget assessment, a review of methods used by school districts to bid for and procure transportation, a review of best practices in other states, and finally, recommendations for improvement.