200,000 School Children in the U.S. are Homeless

Homeless School Children in Districts Across the Country on the Rise

Feb 21, 2009

A neglected face of the foreclosure crisis and increased homelessness in the United States are the number of school children going to classes with no permanent address.

A number of school districts across the country are seeing the number of homeless school children going up. As adults are being forced out of their homes because of foreclosures, national media have not been reporting that many more children these days are going to school in the morning, but may not have a permanent home to return to at the end of the school day. The number of children being reported as being homeless by school districts are often a “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to the number of homeless in the United States. A homeless advocate in the Gainesville, Florida area, Jon DeCarmine, says that the statistics coming in from school districts represent families who are homeless, but not being counted. DeCarmine says that, “When we see the number of homeless children go up we can virtually guarantee an increase in the overall number of homeless.” Decarmine says that the number of homeless public school children in the Gainesville area went up from 279 in 2007 to 546 in 2009. The number of homeless school children numbers in the thousands in some of the largest school districts in the United States.

School Children Who Are Homeless

Here are some of the largest public school districts in the U.S. and the number of homeless children they serve:

The total number of homeless school children in the United States may be around 200,000.

Help for Homeless Students

Federal Law provides for the education of homeless children. The McKinney-Vento Act, which makes many provisions for the homeless population of the United States has eased the process of going to school for homeless students. The act streamlines the paperwork for homeless students, as obtaining an education in the public schools usually requires proof of legal residency in a school district, something that homeless people. By definition do not have. The act also provides for the right of enrollment, even if they lack appropriate records, and the right to obtain transportation to school, if needed. Access to school services in the United States is piecemeal and varies from state to state, and district to district. Taking advantage of these rights to education requires that homeless people locate local homeless advocates and learn who their individual district homeless liaisons are.

The copyright of the article 200,000 School Children in the U.S. are Homeless in American Affairs is owned by Jon Pike. Permission to republish 200,000 School Children in the U.S. are Homeless in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.