Homeless Education – General

This NCHE brief provides basic information about the scope of the issue of children, youth, and family homelessness; the impact of homelessness on education; and the educational rights of children and youth experiencing homelessness.
Download Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness: An Introduction to the Issues.

This NCHE printout provides potential warning signs of homelessness that educators can look for when working with students.
Download: Potential Warning Signs of Homelessness.

This report from Civic Enterprises provides unique insights into the challenges faced by homeless students and proposed strategies for addressing these challenges. Based on focus groups with and surveys of State Coordinators for Homeless Education, local homeless education liaisons, and homeless youth, the report provides an overview of existing research on homeless students, sheds light on the challenges homeless students face and the supports they say they need to succeed, reports on the challenges educators face in trying to help homeless students, and recommends changes in policy and practice to help homeless students get on a path to adult success.
Download Hidden in Plain Sight: Homeless Students in America’s Public Schools.

This 2015 report from Child Trends explores key indicators from data collected by the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, including data regarding living situation, race, age, gender, and more.
Download Homeless Children and Youth: Indicators on Children and Youth.

NAEHCY is a national membership association dedicated to educational excellence for children and youth experiencing homelessness. Through state and federal policy and technical assistance to NAEHCY members, students, and the public, NAEHCY seeks to change systems so that all children and youth can learn, succeed academically, and achieve their dreams. The NAEHCY website includes a variety of valuable resources related to the field of homeless education, including information about NAEHCY’s policy work, annual conference, and scholarship fund.
Visit the NAEHCY website.

NLCHP is a national legal organization dedicated to ending and preventing homelessness. Through policy advocacy, public education, and impact litigation, NLCHP seeks to address the root causes of homelessness and meet the immediate and long-term needs of those who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. Among its portfolio of work, NLCHP focuses on educational access to homeless children and youth.
Visit the NLCHP website.
Visit the NLCHP Youth & Education Resources webpage.
Download Education of Homeless Children & Youth: The Guide to Their Rights.
Download No Barriers: A Legal Advocate’s Guide to Ensuring Compliance with the Education Program of the McKinney-Vento Act.

This webpage from the Education Commission of the States (ECS) summarizes state policies related to homeless education that have been enacted since 2000.
Visit the ECS Homeless Education Recent State Policies/Activities webpage.

This Maine state law, formally entitled An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Task Force To Engage Maine’s Youth Regarding Successful School Completion, gives homeless students, students in foster care, and other students experiencing educational disruption, the opportunity to earn a diploma from the State Education Commissioner. Students are still required to demostrate proficiency according to state standards, but are given the opportunity to earn a diploma outside of a school district’s standard procedures.
Download Maine Education Bill 257.