S. 5146 — Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act of 2026

This section defines foster care youth as children and youth whose care and placement are the responsibility of a State or Tribal agency under parts B or E of title IV of the Social Security Act, including individuals who were age 13 or older when under such care, regardless of subsequent adoption, guardianship, or other permanency outcomes. It defines homeless youth and unaccompanied youth by reference to section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and eliminates subsections (m) and (n) of section 480 of the Higher Education Act.

This section expands the duties of the student loan ombudsman within the Performance-Based Organization to receive, review, and resolve complaints regarding a student’s independence under section 480(d)(2) or (8) of the Higher Education Act. It requires consultation with child welfare agencies, local educational agency liaisons for homeless youth, and State Coordinators for Education of Homeless Children and Youth.

This section requires institutions of higher education participating in federal student aid programs to designate a trained liaison to connect homeless youth, unaccompanied youth at risk of homelessness, and foster care youth with financial aid, housing, food, health care, and other services. It mandates priority access to institutionally owned housing for these students, a plan for housing access during academic breaks, and voluntary questions on admission applications to identify such students. It also requires institutions to provide access to housing facilities when students face temporary delays in voucher disbursements under section 477 of the Social Security Act or institutional processing delays.

This section requires applicants for TRIO program grants to identify and conduct outreach to homeless youth and foster care youth and to make available to them all program services, including mentoring, tutoring, and other support. It also adds homeless youth and foster care youth to the populations served by TRIO programs alongside college students.

This section requires entities carrying out Talent Search projects to review and revise policies and practices to remove barriers to participation and retention of homeless youth and foster care youth. It also requires project applications to describe outreach activities to such youth and to submit reports on services provided to them.

This section requires Upward Bound project applicants to assure that they have reviewed and revised policies and practices to remove barriers to the participation and retention of homeless youth and foster care youth. It also requires a description of outreach activities to such youth in the application and submission of a report on their participation at the conclusion of the project.

This section requires entities carrying out student support services projects to review and revise policies and practices to remove barriers to participation and retention of homeless youth and foster care youth. It also requires project applications to describe outreach activities to such youth enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the institution and to submit reports under section 402H(e) on their participation at project conclusion.

This section requires educational opportunity center grantees to review and revise policies and practices to remove barriers to participation and retention of homeless youth and foster care youth. It also requires grant applications to describe outreach activities for these youth and mandates reports on services provided to them at project conclusion.

This section requires entities carrying out TRIO projects under sections 402B, 402C, 402D, or 402F of the Higher Education Act to submit a report to the Secretary at the conclusion of each project that includes data on the number of homeless youth and foster care youth served and a description of effective strategies or program enhancements used to meet their needs.

This section requires Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant applicants to assure they have reviewed and revised policies to remove barriers for homeless youth and foster care youth, will conduct outreach to such youth, and will submit reports on project outcomes for them. It authorizes activities to recruit, retain, and support these youth, including partnerships with child welfare agencies, homeless shelters, and local educational agency liaisons, plus transitional services when students change schools. It also requires project-end reports on the number of such youth served and effective strategies used.

This section requires institutions of higher education participating in Federal work-study programs to prioritize part-time employment for students who are homeless youth or foster care youth.

This section requires the Secretary to report the number of undetermined requests for homelessness consideration on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, including cases where an institution made no determination on an applicant’s special circumstance of being homeless.

This section extends in-state tuition protections to homeless youth and foster care youth. It requires states receiving assistance under the Higher Education Act to charge such individuals tuition and required fees at public institutions of higher education at a rate no greater than that charged to state residents, effective for the first period of enrollment beginning in the first full award year after the effective date of the Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act of 2026.

This section directs the Secretary of Education to issue revised guidance within 120 days on serving homeless youth (including unaccompanied homeless youth), students who are unaccompanied, at risk of homelessness, and self-supporting, and foster care youth, including financial aid determination processes under section 479D. It also requires annual professional development or training, beginning within one year, for liaisons under section 485(n) and interested faculty or staff, and submission of a report to Congress within one year and every five years thereafter on effective institutional strategies for recruitment, retention, completion, and financial aid streamlining for these students.