Presentation to the Leaders Presentation to the Leaders RoundtableRoundtable

Sept. 25, 2007 Sept. 25, 2007 Revised July 30, 2010Revised July 30, 2010Homeless Students Homeless Students

Presentation to the Leaders Presentation to the Leaders RoundtableRoundtable

Sept. 25, 2007 Sept. 25, 2007 Revised July 30, 2010Revised July 30, 2010Homeless Students Homeless Students

www.leadersroundtable.org

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Homeless students:What the law requires

By federal law, students identified as homeless are entitled to the same public education as other children and youth

The law requires school districts to report annually how many students were homeless during any part of the school year. And every district has had to appoint a liaison between homeless families and its schools

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Homeless Definitions

• Individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence

• Are living in a motel, campground

• Are awaiting permanent foster care

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Homeless Living Situations include:

Sharing Housing with Relatives, Friends or Others due to:

– Loss of Housing

– Economic Hardship

– Similar Reasons

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Homeless Living Situations also include:

• Places not ordinarily designated for human accommodation

• Cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings

• Substandard or overcrowded housing

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…and…• Migrant children in living situations such as

those described above

• Unaccompanied Youth– Youths not in the physical custody of a parent

or legal guardian, or person in a parental relationship

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ORS 339.115(7)ENACTED OREGON IN 1988

A school district shall not exclude from admission a child located in the district

• solely because the child does not have a fixed place or residence or

• solely because the child is not under the supervision of a parent, guardian or person in a parental relationship.

8Source: ODE

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Homeless Students in 2008-09

• 18,051students identified as homeless, a 37% increase over 05-06, representing 3.2 % of Oregon’s 564,094 K-12 students

• 8,268 homeless students were enrolled in grades K-5

• 3,568 homeless students were enrolled in grades 6-8

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Homeless Students in 2008-09• 6,215 homeless students were enrolled in grades 9-12

• The greatest numbers of homeless students were 12th graders (2,134)

• 3,041 students within the total count were unaccompanied homeless minors who had been abandoned by parents, or had runaway from home or foster care placement.

• The US Department of Education does not require this data to be disaggregated by race and ethnicity

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Where are the highest numbers of homeless students?

Source: ODE*Enrollment is not final ADM count

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Some of the reasons for the increase

• Better reporting

• Districts are having more success at keeping homeless students enrolled

• More families in poverty

• Housing costs continue to increase while incomes for those at the bottom of the economic spectrum have not

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Some of the reasons• Affordable housing is extremely scarce

• Meth, alcohol and other drugs cause families to lose housing, and cause many youths to leave home

• Costs of fuel, transportation continue to rise

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What schools do

Schools are doing a better job of identifying students who lack permanent homes and also doing a better job of helping students in those straits to overcome barriers and stay in school.

More than 200 homeless education specialists around the state work to make sure that students who become homeless get the bus rides, food baskets, utility assistance, encouragement and red-tape-busting that they and their families need to keep them in class.

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For More Information:• Dona Bolt, Homeless Education Program

– Dona.bolt@state.or.us

• Donna Brant, Education Specialist– Donna.brant@state.or.us

WEBPAGE: http://www.ode.state.or.us/Go/Homeless

Or use ODE Search button or A-Z Topic MenuGo to “H” for Homeless Education