II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1949 

To authorize demonstration projects to improve educational and housing 

outcomes for children. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 5, 2017 

Mrs. MURRAY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize demonstration projects to improve educational 

and housing outcomes for children. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Affordable Housing 

5 for Educational Achievement Demonstration Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘AHEAD Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

8 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 

9 (1) To provide incentives for public housing 

10 agencies or tribally designated housing entities, local 


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1 educational agencies, and community-based or social 

2 service organizations to work together to improve 

3 educational and life outcomes for students from low4 income families, including students experiencing 

5 homelessness and students at risk of experiencing 

6 homelessness. 

7 (2) To reduce and prevent child, youth, and 

8 family homelessness and increase housing and school 

9 stability. 

10 (3) To reduce socioeconomic and racial dispari11 ties in academic, health, and quality of life outcomes 

12 by promoting socioeconomic and racial diversity in 

13 neighborhoods, local educational agencies, and 

14 schools. 

15 (4) To support and evaluate innovative ideas in 

16 the areas of housing stability, socioeconomic and ra17 cial diversity, and educational success in order to de18 velop evidence-based practices. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRO22 GRAM.—The term ‘‘early childhood education pro23 gram’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

24 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

25 U.S.C. 1003). 


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1 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti2 ty’’ means a partnership that— 

3 (A) shall include— 

4 (i) a public housing agency or tribally 

5 designated housing entity (which may be 

6 designated as the lead agency); 

7 (ii) a local educational agency (which 

8 may be designated as the lead agency); and 

9 (iii) a community-based or social serv10 ice organization; and 

11 (B) may include— 

12 (i) a housing developer; 

13 (ii) an early childhood education pro14 gram; 

15 (iii) a community development finan16 cial institution; 

17 (iv) a program that provides shelter to 

18 unaccompanied youth who are homeless, 

19 which may include a program established 

20 or supported under the Runaway and 

21 Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et 

22 seq.); 

23 (v) a local transportation authority; 


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1 (vi) an institution of higher education, 

2 as described in section 101 of the Higher 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); 

4 (vii) a child welfare agency; 

5 (viii) a domestic violence organization; 

6 (ix) an owner of a property with a 

7 project-based rental assistance contract 

8 under section 8 of the United States Hous9 ing Act of 1937 (2 U.S.C. 1437f); and 

10 (x) other community partners. 

11 (3) HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS.—The 

12 term ‘‘homeless children and youths’’ has the mean13 ing given the term in section 725 of the McKinney14 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 

15 (4) LOCAL COLLABORATIVE APPLICANT.—The 

16 term ‘‘local collaborative applicant’’ means an entity 

17 described in section 401(3) of the McKinney-Vento 

18 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360(3)) that 

19 serves the geographic area covered by an eligible en20 tity. 

21 (5) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

22 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

23 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec24 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 


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1 (6) PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY.—The term 

2 ‘‘public housing agency’’ has the meaning given the 

3 term in section 3 of the United States Housing Act 

4 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a). 

5 (7) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

6 means the Secretary of Education and the Secretary 

7 of Housing and Urban Development. 

8 (8) TRIBALLY DESIGNATED HOUSING ENTI9 TY.—The term ‘‘tribally designated housing entity’’ 

10 has the meaning given the term in section 4(22) of 

11 the Native American Housing Assistance and Self 

12 Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103(22)). 

13 (9) UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH.—The term ‘‘un14 accompanied youth’’ has the meaning given the term 

15 in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As16 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 

17 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—From the funds authorized under 

19 section 9(a) and not reserved under section 9(b), the Sec20 retaries, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and 

21 Human Services, shall jointly award on a competitive 

22 basis— 

23 (1) a planning grant to not more than 30 eligi24 ble entities to enable such eligible entities to prepare 


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1 to conduct a demonstration project as described in 

2 section 7(a); and 

3 (2) an implementation grant to not more than 

4 18 eligible entities (which may include eligible enti5 ties that received a planning grant under paragraph 

6 (1)) to enable such eligible entities to conduct a 

7 demonstration project as described in section 7(b). 

8 (b) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 

9 (1) PLANNING GRANTS.—A planning grant 

10 awarded under this section shall be for a term of not 

11 more than 2 years. 

12 (2) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—An implemen13 tation grant awarded under this section shall be for 

14 a term of not more than 5 years. 

15 (c) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the amount made 

16 available under section 9(a) for a fiscal year is less than 

17 the amount authorized under such provision for such fiscal 

18 year, the Secretary shall ratably reduce the number of 

19 grants awarded under subsection (a). 

20 SEC. 5. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. 

21 (a) PLANNING GRANT.—An eligible entity that de22 sires a planning grant shall submit an application at such 

23 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 

24 the Secretaries may reasonably require. Such application 

25 shall include— 


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1 (1) a comprehensive needs assessment, includ2 ing information about the number and percentage of 

3 homeless children and youths enrolled in schools 

4 served by, and the socioeconomic and racial demo5 graphics of, the local educational agency that is a 

6 partner in the eligible entity; 

7 (2) a description of how the eligible entity 

8 will— 

9 (A) conduct sufficient stakeholder outreach 

10 within the community, including through public 

11 hearings, in order to inform the development of 

12 the memorandum of understanding described in 

13 subparagraph (B) and the activities carried out 

14 through the demonstration project described in 

15 subsection (b)(3)(B); 

16 (B) develop the memorandum of under17 standing described in section 7(a)(1); 

18 (3) a description of the goals of the demonstra19 tion project, which shall include— 

20 (A) improving academic achievement and 

21 life outcomes for children from low-income fam22 ilies; and 

23 (B) either increasing socioeconomic or ra24 cial diversity in one or more local educational 

25 agencies, or creating housing and educational 


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1 stability for homeless children and youths, or 

2 both such goals; 

3 (4) a description of the target population to be 

4 served using grant funds, which may include home5 less children and youths, unaccompanied youths, or 

6 children or youths living in subsidized housing; 

7 (5) an assurance that each local educational 

8 agency that is a partner in the eligible entity will 

9 meet the applicable requirements of paragraphs (3) 

10 and (6) of section 722(g) of the McKinney-Vento 

11 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(3) 

12 and (6)); and 

13 (6) a description, including a timeline and a 

14 budget, of how the eligible entity plans to spend 

15 planning grant funds consistent with section 7(a). 

16 (b) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—An eligible entity 

17 that desires an implementation grant to conduct a dem18 onstration project shall submit an application at such 

19 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 

20 the Secretaries may reasonably require. Such application 

21 shall include— 

22 (1) a description of how the eligible entity used 

23 funds under section 7(a), if such entity received a 

24 planning grant under subsection (a); 


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1 (2) a memorandum of understanding between 

2 all partners of the eligible entity, which includes the 

3 information described in section 7(a)(1); 

4 (3) a description of— 

5 (A) the goals described in subsection 

6 (a)(3), updated as necessary to reflect the re7 sults of the planning period, if applicable; 

8 (B) the activities the eligible entity plans 

9 to conduct, in accordance with section 7(b); 

10 (C) how the eligible entity conducted stake11 holder outreach that informed the demonstra12 tion project; and 

13 (D) the outcomes that the eligible entity 

14 plans to achieve, including how the eligible enti15 ty will collect data in accordance with section 8; 

16 (4) a description, including a timeline and a 

17 budget, of how the eligible entity plans to spend 

18 grant funds consistent with section 7(b); 

19 (5) an assurance that the eligible entity will 

20 provide State, local, or private matching funds in an 

21 amount equal to not less than 10 percent of the 

22 amount of funds awarded under the grant, which 

23 may be provided in cash or in kind, to support the 

24 demonstration project; 


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1 (6) a description of how the eligible entity will 

2 coordinate services with those provided by— 

3 (A) the State, the State Coordinator for 

4 the Education of Homeless Children and 

5 Youths, local educational agencies, and the local 

6 educational agencies’ homeless liaisons; 

7 (B) the public and private child health and 

8 welfare systems and Federal housing, early 

9 childhood, education, juvenile justice, and child 

10 health and welfare programs, such as— 

11 (i) the Runaway and Homeless Youth 

12 Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.); and 

13 (ii) programs authorized under the 

14 Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), 

15 the Child Care and Development Block 

16 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et 

17 seq.), and the Elementary and Secondary 

18 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et 

19 seq.); and 

20 (C) the local collaborative applicant; and 

21 (7) an assurance that the eligible entity will 

22 participate in the evaluation described in section 

23 8(a). 


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1 SEC. 6. SELECTION CRITERIA. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In selecting among applications to 

3 receive grants under this Act, the Secretaries shall take 

4 into account— 

5 (1) the potential of each eligible entity to plan 

6 and carry out a demonstration project that meets 

7 the goals described in section 5(a)(3); 

8 (2) the relative performance of the public hous9 ing agency that is a partner in the eligible entity, as 

10 measured by the Department of Housing and Urban 

11 Development Public Housing Assessment System; 

12 (3) the capacity of the eligible entity to share 

13 relevant data between partner agencies, as described 

14 in the memorandum of understanding under section 

15 7(a)(1); 

16 (4) the evidence-based practices the eligible en17 tity plans to adopt to promote housing and edu18 cational stability, if applicable; 

19 (5) the degree to which the eligible entity has 

20 conducted sufficient outreach within the community 

21 to be served by the implementation grant; and 

22 (6) whether the local educational agency that is 

23 a partner in the eligible entity is a local educational 

24 agency with an urban-centric district locale code of 

25 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43. 


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1 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR IMPLEMENTATION

2 GRANTS.—In awarding implementation grants, the Secre3 taries shall provide an equal number of grants to eligible 

4 entities desiring to increase socioeconomic or racial diver5 sity in one or more local education agencies as eligible en6 tities desiring to create housing and educational stability 

7 for homeless children and youths. 

8 SEC. 7. USES OF FUNDS. 

9 (a) PLANNING GRANTS.—An eligible entity that re10 ceives a planning grant under section 4(a)(1) shall use the 

11 grant funds— 

12 (1) to develop a memorandum of understanding 

13 (which may be an existing or amended memorandum 

14 of understanding) between all partners of the eligible 

15 entity describing the demonstration project that the 

16 eligible entity plans to conduct, including— 

17 (A) the roles and responsibilities of each 

18 partner agency; 

19 (B) the intended outcomes of the dem20 onstration project; 

21 (C) how each partner agency will share rel22 evant data, if applicable, consistent with the re23 quirements of section 444 of the General Edu24 cation Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g) (comVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Oct 11, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1949.IS S1949

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1 monly referred to as the ‘‘Family Educational 

2 Rights and Privacy Act of 1974’’); and 

3 (D) a timeline for the demonstration 

4 project; 

5 (2) to conduct planning, collaboration activities, 

6 stakeholder and community outreach, public hear7 ings, and listening sessions, including engagement 

8 with the community, parents, teachers, and students; 

9 (3) to increase the capacity of the eligible entity 

10 to share relevant data; and 

11 (4) to investigate innovative approaches to 

12 meeting the goals under section 5(a)(3). 

13 (b) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—An eligible entity 

14 that receives an implementation grant under section 

15 4(a)(2) shall use the grant funds to implement a dem16 onstration project that meets the goals identified in sec17 tion 5(a)(3), which shall include for one or more of the 

18 following activities: 

19 (1) To provide housing assistance that facili20 tates homeownership or affordable rental, including 

21 downpayment assistance, limited-English proficiency 

22 support, or rental vouchers or subsidies. 

23 (2) To assist families in addressing housing 

24 needs, such as through housing counselors or client 

25 advocates. 


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1 (3) To increase educational support for children 

2 living in public or subsidized housing, emergency 

3 shelters, transitional housing, motels, or other living 

4 arrangements described in section 725(2)(B) of the 

5 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 11434a(2)(B)). 

7 (4) To conduct outreach and collaborate with 

8 local entities that provide educational and housing 

9 supports for unaccompanied youths who are home10 less, including entities funded by the Runaway and 

11 Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.). 

12 (5) To improve access to high-quality early 

13 childhood education programs for homeless children 

14 or children living in subsidized housing. 

15 (6) To provide community-based services for 

16 low-income children and their families, which may 

17 include case management, health, mental health, em18 ployment, or other social services provided through 

19 a local Continuum of Care program described under 

20 subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Home21 less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.), as ap22 plicable. 

23 (7) To increase higher education, job training, 

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1 ing in subsidized housing, emergency shelters, or 

2 transitional housing. 

3 (8) To provide professional development activi4 ties for staff and administrators, including training 

5 on best practices to promote and support socioeco6 nomically and racially diverse classrooms. 

7 (9) To promote housing stability for youth who 

8 leave foster care after the age of 18 or who have left 

9 foster care after the age of 16 to adoption or guard10 ianship, which may include intensive case manage11 ment or coordination with the family unification pro12 gram described in section 8(x) of the United States 

13 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(x)). 

14 (10) To support programs that focus on build15 ing self-sufficiency skills, permanent connections, 

16 and social and emotional well-being for youth at risk 

17 of homelessness. 

18 (11) To implement strategies to increase socio19 economic or racial diversity in early childhood edu20 cation programs or public elementary schools or sec21 ondary schools. 

22 SEC. 8. EVALUATIONS AND REPORTS. 

23 (a) EVALUATIONS.—The Secretaries shall conduct a 

24 rigorous evaluation of each implementation grant awarded 

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1 uation to Congress. Such an evaluation shall examine the 

2 results of the demonstration project on the following out3 comes for children: 

4 (1) Academic achievement or school readiness. 

5 (2) Housing and educational stability. 

6 (3) Socioeconomic or racial diversity. 

7 (4) Other measures of child well-being and 

8 neighborhood opportunity, as determined by the Sec9 retaries. 

10 (b) REPORTS.—Each eligible entity receiving an im11 plementation grant under section 4 shall submit to the 

12 Secretaries a report detailing the effects of the demonstra13 tion project on the outcomes described in subsection (a). 

14 Such reports shall be submitted— 

15 (1) at the end of the third year of the 5-year 

16 grant period; and 

17 (2) at the end of such grant period. 

18 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro20 priated $150,000,000 for fiscal year 2018 and such sums 

21 as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2019 through 

22 2024 in order to carry out this Act. 

23 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EVALUATION.— 

24 From the amount appropriated to carry out this Act for 

25 any fiscal year, the Secretaries may reserve not more than 


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1 5 percent of funds to provide technical assistance, conduct 

2 an evaluation of a demonstration project under section 

3 8(a), and disseminate best practices. 

Æ 


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