This brief spotlights state coordination for early childhood education of young children experiencing homelessness. The content includes information about the rights and services afforded by the McKinney-Vento and Head Start Acts, spotlights early childhood education for students experiencing homelessness in North Carolina and Nevada, and…

This brief seeks to improve staff effectiveness while maximizing and streamlining support for students and families experiencing homelessness, ensuring they receive the assistance they need and deserve. The guidance is intended for, but not limited to, Massachusetts policymakers and Boston Public Schools (BPS) administrators, offering key insights…

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as amended, requires that school counselors provide college preparation and readiness assistance to students experiencing homelessness. This NCHE brief explores the role of school counselors in providing college preparation and readiness supports to students experiencing homelessness and recommends…

Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Act, reauthorized in 2015 by Title IX, Part A of the "Every Student Succeeds Act" guarantees a child or youth identified as homeless the right to attend either the school of origin or the local attendance area school in the area in which they are currently residing. This brief explains the provisions…

This short document provides basic information to help housing and homeless assistance providers advocate with their families and youth for appropriate educational services, from birth through higher education. The rights and protections outlined in this document apply to all children and youth experiencing homelessness, as defined by the…

This brief summarizes a study of five school districts that have been recognized for their efforts to provide high-quality services to students experiencing homelessness. The districts worked hard to identify students experiencing homelessness and supplemented modest federal funds with private funding, district funding, community-based resources,…

In this qualitative case study, we employ 29 semistructured interviews and an array of supplemental data to explore why and how COVID-19 shaped school and community practices around student and family homelessness in Houston, Texas. Drawing on Small's notion of organizational embeddedness, we find that COVID-19 fundamentally altered school and…

This article highlights McKinney-Vento awareness and implementation as experienced and understood by unaccompanied youth facing housing instability and the adults charged with its implementation in schools. A qualitative inquiry was used to capture the perspectives of youth experiencing housing instability as they navigated a large urban school…

Approximately 1.3 million K-12 public school students across the United States were identified as experiencing homelessness in 2019-20. In all cases, the stress, instability, trauma, and school mobility created by homelessness increase risks to physical, social, and emotional health and to educational engagement and achievement. Districts play an…

Through engaging in interviews with 10 local educational agency liaisons, this study provides insight into their roles, challenges, and training in serving children and youth experiencing homelessness. Using thematic analysis to analyze transcripts, common themes were uncovered. The findings highlight the liaisons' challenges related to…

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), Congress' most recent package for COVID-19 relief, includes billions of dollars dedicated to infants, toddlers, and children under the age of six. In addition to the $800 million in education funding included for identifying and supporting children and youth experiencing homelessness, there are opportunities…

The number of American homeless youth has skyrocketed in the twenty-first century. In 2015, for example, this number reached a record high, becoming twice as high as it was before the recession. Educators should be concerned about this problem because homelessness is more harmful to children than to adults and interferes dramatically with their…

This Research-to-Impact brief is the ninth in a series by Chapin Hall's Voices of Youth Count on understanding and addressing youth homelessness. For the 4.2 million adolescents and young adults who experience some form of homelessness, opportunities to develop and realize their educational aspirations are often disrupted. "Missed…

In Denver's western suburbs, a social studies teacher thought up a novel approach to teaching her students the unsettling realities of urban homelessness. She assigned them the task of sleeping overnight in the backseat of the family car. But the assignment held a surprise in store for the teacher--one that provides a glimpse into the reality of…

Family homelessness has been on the rise throughout the United States in recent years. As a result, more schools and communities than ever are challenged to serve students whose lives are touched by instability, uncertainty, and crisis. To date, there has been little inquiry into how families' particular places of homelessness might shape school…