Children, Education of

Educational Problems Confronting Homeless Children

School is especially important for homeless children because it is one of the few factors in their lives that provide stability, structure, and accomplishment during a time of great upheaval. When families lose their housing, they are often forced to move from one temporary placement to another. When children simultaneously lose both their home and school, they are doubly unanchored. They lose their neighborhood friends and have to make new ones. At the same time, they must get used to a new school, new teacher, and schoolwork that is often discontinuous with their previous curriculum. The instability associated with homelessness makes regular school attendance and success a daunting challenge for these children. Research studies investigating these impacts show that homeless children have poorer rates of school attendance, lower scores on standardized achievement tests, and higher rates of grade retention than their permanently housed peers.

The Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program

When the United States Congress passed the first comprehensive legislation to aid the homeless, it acknowledged the threat of homelessness to school success. The 1987 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, and its subsequent amendments, authorized a range of programs and benefits to provide urgently needed relief to the nation's unhoused and poor. It spoke to the educational needs of children and youth who are homeless by providing formula grants for states to carry out the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program, or EHCY (Subtitle VII-B). It also provided grants to local education agencies to help homeless young people enroll in, attend, and succeed in school. In 2001, the McKinney Act was reauthorized as part of the “No Child Left Behind” Act; it was also renamed the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

In reauthorizing the Act in 2001, Congress reaffirmed these intentions by substantially strengthening the EHCY program. Changes were based on proven practices contributed by educators from across the country, aimed at improving stability, access, and support. The program mandates that homeless children and youth have equal access to the same free and appropriate public education as their permanently housed peers, including preschool. It requires all state and local education agencies to review and revise any laws, regulations, practices, and policies that may act as a barrier to the enrollment, attendance, or academic success of homeless students. It requires states to ensure that local educational agencies do not create a separate education system for children and youth who are homeless. It mandates equal access to educational programs and services. It also specifies that homeless children and youth be provided with the opportunity to meet state and local academic achievement standards and be included in state- and district-wide assessments and accountability systems. One section of the “Statement of Policy” mandated by Congress calls for the removal of identified obstacles to school enrollment, attendance, and success, noting practical issues such as transportation, guardianship, and immunization requirements.

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