Forty-two percent of formerly homeless youth surveyed for a new report say they dropped out of school at least once. Fifty percent say they slept in a car, abandoned building or other public place. And 61 percent say they were uncomfortable talking about their housing situation with people at their school. Students who experience homelessness are disproportionately minorities, and LGBTQ students are heavily overrepresented in the unaccompanied youth population.
A new study written by Civic Enterprises and released by the GradNation campaign examines the growing problem of student homelessness by asking the young people who have experienced it and the school employees assigned to help them. This is a critical and timely topic. The recent reauthorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides many new and stronger provisions for homeless students (effective Oct. 1, 2016); requires states, district and schools for the first time to report graduation rates for homeless students (effective beginning with the 2016-17 school year); and affirms the urgency and importance of dealing with homelessness so that all children can succeed.
Find out more about the problem and recommended solutions at GradNation.org/homeless.
