Department of Education Homelessness Data Released

The U.S. Department of Education released the Federal Data Summary School Years 2015-16 to 2017-18 for the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program. a report of school year data on children and youth enrolled in public schools (preK-12) who were identified as experiencing homelessness.

Under the McKinney-Vento Act, all public schools are required to identify, enroll, and stabilize the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. School districts also must submit data to the state education agency, which in turn must submit data to the U.S. Department of Education.

Here are some key takeaways from the newly released Department of Education data:

• The number of identified children and youth experiencing homelessness increased by 11.1%, from 1,358,077 students in the 2016-2017 school year, to 1,508,265 students in the 2017-2018 school year (see page 11).
• Thirty-two states reported an increase in the number of identified children and youth experiencing homelessness between 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 (see pages 11-12).
• The number of children and youth who were unsheltered when they were first identified as experiencing homelessness increased by 104.3%, from 50,187 in the 2016-2017 school year, to 102,527 in the 2017-2018 school year (see page 14).
• Twenty-nine percent of students experiencing homelessness achieved academic proficiency in reading (language arts), 24% achieved proficiency in mathematics and 26% achieved proficiency in science. In comparison, economically disadvantaged students outscored students who were experiencing homelessness by approximately 9 percentage points in most subjects and grades (see page 24).