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Residency requirements, guardianship requirements, delays in transfer of school records, lack of transportation, and lack of immunization records often prevent homeless children from enrolling in school

Homelessness has a devastating impact on children and youths’ educational opportunities.

while 87% of homeless youth are enrolled in school, only 77% attend school regularly.

2007-2008 school year 794,617 homeless children and youth were enrolled in public schools

Furthermore, the number does not include all preschool-age children, or any infants and toddlers.

22% lived in shelters, 65% lived with other family members or friends, 7% lived in motels, and 6% lived without shel

Homeless families move frequently due to limits to length of shelter stays, search for safe and affordable housing or employment, or to escape abusive family members. Too often, homeless children have to change schools because shelters or other temporary accommodations are not located within their school district. Homeless children and youth frequently transfer schools multiple times in a single year because of these conditions. 

According to the Institute for Children and Poverty, homeless children are nine times more likely to repeat a grade, four times more likely to drop out of school, and three times more likely to be placed in special education programs than their housed peers.

McKinney Act’s Education of Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY)

1987 in response to reports that only 57% of homeless children were enrolled in school. 

The EHCY Program provides formula grants to state educational agencies to ensure that all homeless children and youth have equal access to the same free and appropriate education, including preschool education, provided to other children and youth

Local educational agency (LEA) sub grants support a variety of activities, including identification and outreach; assistance with school enrollment and placement; transportation assistance; school supplies; coordination among local service providers; before and after school and summer educational programs; and referrals to support services.

State educational agency (SEA) funding helps support services such as toll-free hotlines; awareness raising activities for educators and service providers; preparation of educational materials for statewide distribution; technical assistance to schools, service providers, parents, and students; and enrollment assistance.

Enrollment of homeless students increased by 17% between the 2006-2007 and the 2007-2008 school years. Yet, while almost all states have revised laws and policies to improve access to education for homeless students, significant barriers to enrollment and attendence remain, including guardianship and immunization requirements, transportation problems and school fees. Barriers to success in school were found to include family mobility, poor health, and lack of food, clothing, and school supplies. [7] Many of these issues were addressed in the 2001 reauthor

ization of the McKinney-Vento Act, but due to a lack in funding, have not been fully addressed.

there was a 17% increase in homeless children and youth identified in public schools.

With numbers of homeless students nearing 800,000, states failed to provide subgrants to 41% of students identified as homeless

Yet, the EHCY program was funded at only $65 million in FY2009, less than one third of the $210 million minimum NAECHY estimates will be required to appropriately serve the rising number of homeless students in America.

43% percent of responding cities reported an increase in the overall number of homeless persons accessing emergency shelter and transitional housing programs during the last year

71% of responding cities reported increases in households with children accessing emergency shelter. 65% of these cities are predicting increases in overall requests for emergency shelter and 100% predict increases in requests for emergency shelter by households with children. Meanwhile, 52% of responding cities already report having to turn people away some or all of the time.

. The primary reason for family homelessness is the lack of affordable housing, though poverty, unemployment, low-paying jobs, family disputes, substance abuse, and other factors all play significant roles in family homelessness. Recent statistics indicate that 26% of those suffering from homelessness are considered “severely mentally ill;” 19% are employed; 15% are victims of domestic violence; 13% are physically disabled; 13 are veterans; and 2% are HIV positive.

Two subpopulations of children who face increased policy barriers to education are unaccompanied homeless youth and homeless preschoolers. Homeless youth are often prevented from enrolling in and attending school by curfew laws, liability concerns, and legal guardianship requirements. [12] Homeless preschoolers also face difficulty accessing public preschool education. Less than 16% of eligible preschool aged homeless children are enrolled in preschool programs. [13]

Congress reauthorized the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act in 2002.  It changed some of the responsibilities of school districts and states, including the requirement for each school district to have a designated homeless education liaison to build awareness in the school and community.  Despite some increase in funding to the initiative in the last few years, the program still lacks proper funding, and, therefore, cannot be adequately implemented on the state and local level.

While they are experiencing homelessness, however, it is essential that children 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.