House lawmakers may amend this measure so as to give local school boards the authority to adopt the earlier cutoff date. In the past 15 years, almost half the states have stiffened entry-age requirements in response to concerns that increasingly demanding curricula in the early grades were setting younger children up for failure. Critics of these stiffer requirements have argued that tinkering with dates diverts attention from the more urgent need to change curricula and improve teaching methods. This summer, the U.S. Department of Education will release a report focusing on how well states are meeting the requirements of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. This measure, passed by Congress in 1987, requires states to insure that homeless children have access to free, appropriate public education.
States can apply for federal grants to support their attempts to serve homeless youth.
The report itself presents a mixed picture. On one hand, it reveals that state governments have eliminated many of the laws and regulations that had been keeping homeless children out of the classroom. But the report also makes it clear that states need to make a stronger effort to overcome the obstacles that remain. However, because of limited funding, only three percent of the nation's school districts received McKinney subgrant dollars in the 1993-94 school year. Transportation is the chief barrier to serving homeless children.