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AISD tells Austin committee Project Help served about 1,768 students experiencing homelessness in 2024–25
Summary
At a Dec. 3 Public Health Committee meeting, AISD’s Project Help described services for homeless, foster and military-connected students, reported 1,768 identified homeless students in 2024–25 and asked for more city partnerships for tutoring and after‑school support. Donations through Austin Energy’s homeless student assistance fund helped open campus supply closets.
Carla Grace Scott, administrative supervisor for Austin Independent School District’s Project Help, told the city’s Public Health Committee on Dec. 3 that the program identifies and supports students experiencing homelessness and immediately enrolls them in school under protections in the McKinney‑Vento Act.
“Immediate enrollment” and transportation to a student’s school of origin are central protections, Scott said, and Project Help works with campuses to remove barriers such as missing documents, using a student residency questionnaire to allow enrollment while records are completed later. “Our role is to identify them, ensure that they’re enrolled immediately,” Scott said.
Scott gave district figures for the 2024–25 school year: AISD identified 1,768 students as homeless, including 155 unaccompanied youth. Classification counts she reported included about 1,246 students doubled up with others, 57 unsheltered students, about 100 in hotel or motel settings and roughly 363 in shelters or transitional housing; she cautioned some subcounts are approximate and said about 85 unaccompanied youth had been identified so far in 2025.
Scott described Project Help’s broader caseload for 2024–25 as approximately 3,294 students when combining homeless, foster care and military‑connected categories. She credited community partners and donations — naming Hindu Charities for America, Bomba (socks), Undies for Everyone (about 10,000 pairs) and local donors — for providing backpacks, clothing and winter gift‑card support. Scott reported Austin Energy’s homeless student assistance fund (donations collected via customer billing) disbursed AISD’s share of more than $21,000 in October 2025; AISD used those donations to open basic‑needs closets on 10 campuses.
Council members asked about funding and whether AISD’s identified totals capture all students experiencing homelessness. Scott said AISD’s core funding comes from two federal grants — Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth administered through the Texas Education Agency and Title I — and that donation dollars fill service gaps such as immunizations, eyeglasses or emergency needs. She said the district believes it underidentifies eligible students because of stigma and families’ reluctance to self‑identify.
Scott asked for continued city partnerships that could expand after‑school and tutoring programs for identified students; Council members suggested exploring county after‑school funding and other collaborative opportunities.
The committee received the presentation; no action was required. Next steps noted at the meeting included staff follow‑up on partnership opportunities and referrals to campus Project Help coordinators for community outreach.
