Children’s Education
According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, families with children constitute about 40 percent of people who become homeless.
It is estimated that at least one-fifth of homeless children do not attend school, and those that do can encounter tremendous challenges in maintaining regular attendance, switching schools, and finding transportion.
Data from the National Center on Family Homelessness demonstrates the impact that homelessness can have on a child’s education:
- children who are experiencing homelessness have four times the average rate of delayed development, more academic problems than other children, are underserved by special education, and are suspended twice as often as other children
- among homeless children, there are twice the number of students with learning disabilities and three times the number of students with emotional and behavioral problems
- children who are experiencing homelessness are twice as likely to repeat a grade
- 21 percent of homeless children repeat a grade because of frequent absence from school, compared to 5 percent of other children, and 14 percent repeat a grade because they have moved to a new school, compared to 5 percent of other children
- within a single year, 40 percent of homeless children attend two different schools, and 28 percent attend three or more different schools
Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is intended to ensure that homelessness does not cause these children to be left behind in school. Specifically, the law states that:
- school districts or schools cannot segregate homeless children in a separate school program within a school, based on homelessness alone
- schools must immediately enroll homeless students even if the students are unable to produce the records normally required by non-homeless students for enrollment
- states and their school districts must ensure that homeless children are provided transportation - at the request of parents or guardians - to and from the school they attended prior to becoming homeless
- school districts must designate a local liaison for homeless children and youths
What homeless children need most of all is a home. While they are experiencing homelessness, however, children desperately need to remain in school. School is one of the few stable, secure places in the lives of homeless children and youth–a place where they can acquire the skills needed to help them escape poverty.
Links for Further Research
Further information on the impact of homelessness on children’s education can be found at:
- National Center for Homeless Education
- National Coalition for the Homeless fact sheet on education of homeless children and youth
- Information on the McKinney-Vento Act from the National Coalition for the Homeless
