Educational Opportunity for Homeless Students

Since the beginning of the Great Recession, rates of student homelessness have risen rapidly in urban, suburban, and rural school districts throughout the United States. Approximately one million students were identified as homeless during the 2009 to 2010 school year. Since homelessness has been associated with an array of negative school outcomes including low attendance rates, poor grades and attendance scores, and social stigmatization, this represents a significant challenge for schools. One clear finding that has emerged from Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) studies of homeless and highly mobile students is that schools and community-based organizations have important roles in connecting students and families to a variety of education-related opportunities.