This PACER brief provides RFA's updated analysis of data on students experiencing homelessness in Pennsylvania, highlighting prevalence, challenges with identification, disparities in educational opportunities, and impact on academic outcomes. Our main findings include that: (1) Roughly 2% of students in Pennsylvania were identified as…

For youth separated from their parents or guardians because of a disaster, school provides a stable and secure environment, offering structure and supports to help them overcome the trauma they have experienced and regain their academic, social, and emotional footing. Therefore, schools and school districts or local educational agencies (LEAs) and…

In August 2017, the Houston area was ravaged by one of the costliest natural disasters in history--Hurricane Harvey. In this brief, the first in a two-part series, the authors examine the effects of Harvey on student homelessness in the Houston Independent School District (Houston ISD). The authors find that student homelessness in Houston ISD…

We tested 10 data-based strategies to better identify student homelessness in Camden City School District, which has a student body from minoritized backgrounds. We operationalized strategies through a research-practice partnership, following the federal homelessness definition. Data span 5 years (2014-15 through 2018-19), including integrated…

Over 1.5 million students in the United States experience homelessness. These students are entitled to educational support through the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program. However, many homeless students are not identified and therefore never receive this support. Across 1,732 local education agencies in New Jersey, New Mexico, and…

Under the McKinney-Vento Act, students who experience homelessness have the right to remain in their school of origin or to immediate enrollment in a new school. Eligible English learners (ELs) who are homeless have the right to access language assistance services. States must ensure that homeless children and youths have equal access to free,…

According to the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE, 2008), there were 679,724 homeless students in the United States enrolled in schools in 2006-2007. In the 2017-2018 school year, there were 1,508,265 homeless students in the United States (U.S. Department of Education, 2020). In just over 12 years, the homeless student population had…

The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) annually submits a report outlining the method used in determining the coefficients for each site characteristic used to establish the transportation allocation for the following year. The Student Transportation Allocation Reporting System (STARS) will determine the 2024-25…

Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 (McKinney-Vento Act) authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide grants to states [42 U.S.C. § 11432(a)]. Grants provide services and activities to improve the identification of students who qualify as homeless, as well as to enable the students to enroll in, attend, and…

Due to the growing number of students enrolling as homeless in American public schools, a quantitative design was applied to determine if students in an Illinois suburban, kindergarten through eighth grade school district (District A), who are enrolled under the McKinney-Vento Act and are receiving resources of food, shelter, clothing, and…

Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Act, reauthorized in 2015 by Title IX, Part A of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" guarantees a child or youth identified as homeless the right to attend either the school of origin or the local attendance area school in the area in which they are currently residing. This brief explains the provisions…

There is no question that students who experience homelessness, like all students, are entitled to be educated. A federal law, known as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, requires states to provide homeless children and youth with the same access to free appropriate public education as is available to other students. The Act also requires…

Systems navigators help local educational agencies (LEAs) meet the needs of students experiencing homelessness and decrease barriers to their education by connecting them--and often their families--to resources and community organizations that can provide wraparound services. This National Center for Homeless Education brief: (1) provides…

This brief is directed towards relief agencies. These agencies play a critical role in connecting families, children, and youth who have been displaced by disasters to needed services, including enabling children and youth to continue their education. The brief: (1) explains the importance of school attendance for children and youth who have lost…

Parents, guardians, caregivers and school administrators will sometimes disagree over whether a student may enroll in or continue to attend a public school based on the student's place of residence. The information in this manual is designed to help parents, guardians and caregivers understand New Jersey's public school residency rules and to…