State Officials Grant Cambridge Public Schools $200,000 to Support Unhoused Students

The state of Massachusetts awarded Cambridge Public Schools about $200,000 to support unhoused students, state officials announced Tuesday.

The grant will reimburse the district for costs they have incurred supporting unhoused students, especially those currently living in a state-run emergency shelter in East Cambridge, and provide additional funding for the rest of the fiscal year.

Though the amount was calculated based on the number of students living in the emergency shelter and attending CPS schools between Dec. 15, 2023, and June 25, 2024 — roughly $105 per student per day — the funds can be used to serve any student experiencing homelessness or housing instability, according to CPS spokesperson Sujata Wycoff.

The grant brings the state’s total funding for unhoused students in the city to $278,000.

CPS is required to guarantee school enrollment for unhoused children regardless of circumstance under federal law. CPS has been enrolling children staying in the overflow shelter since it opened last December.

The reimbursement grant will not only support instructional services, but also allow the district to provide “clothing, shoes, toiletries, MBTA passes, and gift cards” and continue funding language interpretation services for the students and their families, Wycoff wrote in an email.

Wycoff added that the funding will enable CPS to prepare for possible increases in staffing to address the influx of students experiencing homelessness — including heightened support for district-provided social services and transportation.

Because families currently residing in the East Cambridge overflow site must vacate the shelter at 9 a.m., CPS has also coordinated “door-to-door transportation” for students staying in the East Cambridge overflow site, which part of the grant will support, according to Wycoff.

While the grant is a considerable increase in state funding for unhoused students, Wycoff emphasized that providing services for students residing in the EA shelter has not posed any financial challenge to the district.

Though the funding can only be applied to fiscal years 2024 and 2025, Wycoff wrote, “the district will continue to support each and every student to the greatest extent possible, including those experiencing housing instability.”

—Staff writer Laurel M. Shugart can be reached at laurel.shugart@thecrimson.com. Follow them on X @laurelmshugart or on Threads @laurel.shugart.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.