PreK-12

Chronic Absence & Homelessness

This page includes information about chronic absenteeism and students experiencing homelessness. Find data insights, practical resources, and success stories to address attendance barriers, promote stability, and create supportive learning environments for students experiencing homelessness.

Millions of students are not showing up to school.

For students experiencing homelessness, school is a space of stability in otherwise turbulent lives – it is also a place of opportunity to obtain the education and skills they need to avoid homelessness as adults. Yet, amid a confluence of crises, unprecedented levels of homelessness are driving students away from their schools.

National Data Reveals a Staggering Reality

Public schools identified nearly 1.4 million children and youth experiencing homelessness in the 2022-2023 school year, a 14% increase from the previous year. Children and youth without safe, stable housing face numerous barriers to regular school attendance, including high mobility, traumatic events, and lack of transportation, clothing, hygiene products, and other basic needs. More than half (52%) of students experiencing homelessness in the 2021-2022 school year were chronically absent, a rate that is 22 percentage points higher than other students.

It’s hard to get to school every day when you’re experiencing homelessness—whether it is access to public transportation, food, clothing, sleep, fear of bullying because of your appearance, or the lack of material things (not having a backpack or necessary school supplies or support at home). Schools don’t always address these student insecurities. They run through a standard checklist, but there isn’t always strong follow through.
– Tina
SchoolHouse Connection Scholar

Resources to Support the Attendance of Students Experiencing Homelessness

  1. Supporting the Attendance of Students Experiencing Homelessness. This resource shares strategies that schools, districts, and communities are implementing to help ensure that students experiencing homelessness are in school, every day.
  2. Reducing Chronic Absence for Students Experiencing Homelessness With ARP-HCY, EHCY, and Title I Part A Funds. This three-pager provides a comprehensive overview of strategies to reduce chronic absence among students experiencing homelessness, utilizing ARP-HCY, EHCY, and Title I Part A funds. It includes practical applications and actionable insights to address barriers to attendance, promote stability, and create supportive school environments for students experiencing homelessness.

In the video below, SchoolHouse Connection met with Kathi Sheffel, Homeless Liaison for Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, where she shared the ways her team combats chronic absenteeism with their ARP-HCY funds.

Other Resources to Improve Student Attendance

Webinars
Blogs