Homeless students are defined as youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. These youth share the housing of others; live in motels, hotels, camping grounds, transitional shelters, missions, or public places; or await foster care placement. Homeless students are more likely to experience developmental and educational challenges than their peers. This entry provides an overview of the trends in homelessness, physical and mental health challenges for homeless students, and the impact on education.

Trends in Homelessness

Due to the challenges involved in tracking families living in nontraditional places, estimations of homelessness can be misleading. Homelessness is counted by identifying people who are homeless on a given day or counting people who experience homelessness over a given period of time. However, these methods may ...

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