During the 2013–2014 school year (SY), there were more than 1.3 million homeless students in the U.S., according to a new GradNation.org report, “Hidden In Plain Sight: Homeless Students in America’s Public Schools.” GradNation is a campaign created by America’s Promise Alliance that encompasses “a large and growing movement of dedicated individuals, organizations, and communities working together to end America’s dropout crisis.” The organization’s website, GradNation.org, provides resources for education stakeholders to increase student engagement and high school graduation rates, get locally involved with these efforts, and connect with other advocates invested in the campaign.
The report urges all K–12 stakeholders in an open letter, including “community leaders, funders, parents, educators, and students,” to play an active role in promoting student success, and also highlights several laws that have helped reduce student homelessness rates. These include the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento), and the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which reauthorized the former law upon its passing in December 2015. The authors note, “The recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act strengthens existing supports, requires states, districts and schools to disaggregate graduation rates by homeless students, and affirms the urgency and importance of addressing homelessness to the futures of our young people.” ESSA is expected to play a major role in providing homeless students the supports they need, as they struggle to stay in school, are more likely to drop out than their peers, and previously fell under the radar of schools/states with regard to tracking their academic progress and graduation rates.
ESSA strengthens the McKinney-Vento Act by recognizing the role that schools should play to address student homelessness and improve their chances for success. For those who are unfamiliar with the McKinney-Vento Act, it requires:
- States to appoint a State Coordinator to oversee/ensure the law is properly implemented within the state, and
- School districts to appoint a Local Liaison to ensure homeless children/youth receive the guaranteed services and protections under the law.
Aside from providing background information on the two laws, the report contains results from interviews with homeless students, school liaisons, and state coordinators about student homelessness problems, including student trauma, school disruptions, the “invisibility” of these problems overall, barriers to providing the supports/services this demographic needs, and more. Here are some statistics from the interviews’ findings.
- 82% of homeless students interviewed said their situation has taken a significant toll on their lives, health, relationships, and education overall. 72% said homelessness affected “their ability to feel safe and secure”; 71% said it affected their mental/emotional health; 69% their self-confidence; 60% their ability to stay in school; and 68% their ability to “succeed and do well in school.”
- 67% of homeless students interviewed expressed discomfort with talking to people at their school about their housing situation. Qualitative interview data reflected that in the majority of cases, “no one at their school was ever aware of their situation.”
- “Student homelessness is a highly fluid situation” making it difficult to identify students in that situation. More than 45% of students interviewed said they experienced homelessness “more than a few times.” Of that group, 94% stayed with other people and 68% slept somewhere not “typically designated for sleep because they had nowhere else to go,” including cars, parks, abandoned buildings, and public places.
- School liaisons cite the following school staff as the most important to help identify homeless youth: guidance counselors/social workers (74%), office and clerical staff (63%), teachers (55%), principals/administrators (31%), nurses/medical staff (23%), other support/ancillary staff (19%).
- 54% of homeless students interviewed cite concrete (school supplies, transportation, academic support, etc.) and emotional (counseling, feeling safe, etc.) supports as equally important. At least 80% of students expressed relying on emotionally supportive individuals and school activities to navigate the difficulties of their housing situation, forming meaningful relationships with their peers, and having something to do/somewhere to go during their homelessness as important.
- One-third of school liaisons do not believe their school district places a high priority on the youth homelessness problem. 89% see room for improvement in addressing this issue. One of the greatest challenges is “connecting homeless youth to housing.”
- School liaisons say that district funding and staff resources are the biggest obstacles in providing homeless students the support/services they need. Other obstacles include community awareness of the problem and difficulty with finding safe spaces for students when school is out.
So what policies or practices can schools and districts do to address student homelessness? The report makes several recommendations as education leaders plan to implement ESSA at the local level. (For community- and state-level recommendations, read the full report.)
- Refine and standardize systems for identifying homeless students. ESSA amendments that require states/schools to increase the identification of homeless children and youth supports this endeavor.
- Focus on outreach efforts to inform homeless students and their families of their rights. ESSA language requires school liaisons to disseminate information about McKinney-Vento rights to the public in locations “frequented by parents, guardians, and unaccompanied youth” and in an understandable format.
- Actively work with students to help them stay in school. Many of ESSA’s accountability requirements for school performance and state frameworks address issues of “enrollment, academic records, and credit accrual.”
- Actively connect homeless students to outside supports. Encourage school liaisons to work with community organizations, agencies, or businesses to help provide homeless students the services/supports they need to be successful; many students said during interviews that connections with caring adults outside of schools weren’t made but are invaluable.
- Leverage early warning systems to prevent student homelessness. Have early warning systems in place that “track student attendance, behavior, and course performance” to discover which students are falling behind, especially those who may show such warning signs because of family and housing struggles.
For more information from the report and about how to address student homelessness, see GradNation’s fact sheet.