School Discipline and Homelessness

Homelessness can result in major obstacles to student success. Unstable living conditions and lack of transportation may prevent students from attending school regularly, or arriving in class on time. Lack of clothing, hygiene supplies, or access to laundry equipment may create barriers to adhering to school uniform or dress requirements. Homelessness also negatively impacts students’ physical and mental health, and disproportionately exposes them to bullying and violence.^[1] These stressors and multiple and repeated traumas may result in increased behavioral issues.

Suspensions and expulsions worsen academic outcomes for all students, but are especially harmful for students experiencing homelessness, because homeless students often depend on schools for a safe stable place to be during the day, and a place to receive meals and access to other supports. If students experiencing homelessness are not in school due to exclusionary discipline, they are even more likely to drop out of high school; and without a high school degree or GED, youth face a higher risk of continued homelessness, perpetuating the cycle into adulthood.

Punitive discipline is associated with negative student outcomes, such as lower academic performance, higher rates of dropout, failure to graduate on time, decreased academic engagement, and future disciplinary exclusion.^[2] In contrast, positive school discipline is an important strategy to increase high school graduation rates. Proactive, preventative approaches to discipline that address the underlying cause or purpose of the behavior, and reinforce positive behaviors, have been associated with increases in academic engagement and achievement, as well as reductions in suspensions and school dropouts.^[3] Restorative practices have been found to increase attendance and decrease serious behavioral incidents.^[4]

Data on School Discipline and Student Homelessness

A sampling of recent school discipline data from various states reveals:

• Suspension Rates: Students experiencing homelessness in Texas^[5], Indiana^[6], and Washington^[7] were between 2 and 2.5 times more likely to face suspensions than their housed peers.
• Suspension Length: In Minnesota, students experiencing homelessness were suspended on average 38.55 more days than peers who had never experienced homelessness.^[8]
• Low-Income vs. Experiencing Homelessness: In Florida, 16% of students experiencing homelessness faced suspension compared to 11% of housed students from low-income families.^[9]
• Racial Disparities: In Michigan, Black and Hispanic students experiencing homelessness were disciplined at higher rates than their White peers experiencing homelessness.^[10]

Best Practices to Address Student Homelessness in School Discipline Practices

We recognize that addressing student homelessness in school discipline practices may require different strategies depending on the state. Accordingly, we include a collection of potential steps that can be taken by local education agencies (LEAs), state education agencies (SEAs), and state policymakers. 

Recommendations for Local Educational Agencies

1. General staff training
   • Raise awareness about protections and supports available to students experiencing homelessness through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.
   • Train all staff on identifying signs of homelessness, the related impacts on student conduct, and appropriate approaches to school discipline.
2. Engagement with School Resource Officers (SROs)
   • Train School Resource Officers (SROs) about the unique challenges faced by students experiencing homelessness and the importance of trauma-informed, restorative approaches in their interactions, such as asking about barriers that students may be experiencing.
   • Require collaboration between McKinney-Vento liaisons and SROs to address student discipline. This could include specific training for the SRO, and engagement with the broader police department. Take a look at this video featuring insights on partnering with SROs from two McKinney-Vento liaisons.
   • Establish a process for SROs to make referrals to liaisons, ensuring that SROs are aware of the unique challenges faced by these students and understand how to refer and connect students to supports.
3. Mental health funding and access
   • Where appropriate, divert students who have been assessed and would benefit from counseling or other supportive services to mental health programs.
   • Leverage additional existing resources, like Title IV funds, that can be used for mental health.
   • Remove barriers to mental health programs for students who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness by addressing issues such as medical consent, fees, and transportation to appointments.
   • Engage with community partners to coordinate support for students. Examples include:
     • Contracting with community mental health providers who can support students from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
     • Contracting with community mental health providers to come into schools to provide mental health services during the school day or to offer mental health services within their own organizations. 
     • Utilizing transportation options from community partners to help remove barriers and provide transportation to and from appointments.
     • Partnering with community organizations who have the capacity to provide mental health services for the whole family.
     • Regularly convening with community partners to know what mental health services and supports are available and how to refer to community organizations.
     • Working with community organizations who may have resources to provide child care for younger siblings while older siblings attend appointments.
4. Review and revise discipline policies and procedures at the school and district level
   • Revise LEA discipline procedures to ensure that McKinney-Vento liaisons and/or school counselors are included when making decisions about any discipline of students experiencing homelessness.
   • Ensure a student’s housing status is taken into consideration as part of regular practice prior to any decision regarding removal from school, particularly whether or not the student has a safe place to go if suspended. Utilize in-school alternatives if possible.
   • Provide accessible, alternative dress code options in schools which require uniforms. Use existing funds within the LEA such as Title 1 Part A set aside funds for clothing. Connect students to social service agencies and other community organizations for help with clothing, laundry and related supports.
   • Involve SROs and other staff in truancy court, so that students don’t get fines but are directed toward more meaningful ways to connect back to school as their “consequence.”
   • Only implement exclusionary disciplinary methods as a last resort, in cases involving legitimate safety concerns related to weapons, assault, etc. 

Recommendations for State Educational Agencies

1. Partner with other SEA staff to provide consistent messaging to LEAs
   • Consider who within the SEA provides support to LEAs on school discipline, mental health, SROs, absenteeism, etc. Convene a working group across the agency to ensure that LEA staff receive consistent messaging across departments. 
   • Review and revise SEA policies, or submit revisions for SEA review, that encompass practices for students experiencing homelessness. See our Model Policy on School Discipline for Students Experiencing Homelessness for some suggestions.
   • Consider collaborating for webinars or other training in order to connect with different groups of stakeholders and build bridges between LEA staff members and homeless liaisons. 
2. Provide training and professional development opportunities for homeless liaisons
   • Provide professional development to homeless liaisons on school discipline practices. Consider highlighting LEAs and liaisons who can share strategies and best practices that other LEAs could implement. See here for some slides to use as a starting point.
   • Provide professional development and other opportunities for support on reviewing and revising LEA policies on school discipline practices. 
   • Provide opportunities for homeless liaisons to invite other school staff members such as SROs, administrators, attendance personnel, etc. 
3. Create tools and resources with practical strategies to implement within LEAs
   • Convene a working group of homeless liaisons to provide input on strategies and best practices within LEAs. 
   • Create a written resource on school discipline, including information on McKinney-Vento, as well as recommendations for implementation of best practices.
   • Utilize additional sources of funding to address the barriers that might be causing students experiencing homelessness to come into conflict with school discipline policies. This could include Title I, Part A, and Title IV, Part A. 
4. Review and share data
   • Partner with SEA staff to access any available school discipline data for students experiencing homelessness, making sure to compare data among students who are non-economically disadvantaged, economically disadvantaged, and experiencing homelessness. It is important to disaggregate data for students experiencing homelessness from other student groups in order to examine disparities and create benchmarks for improvement. 
   • Provide data to homeless liaisons or help homeless liaisons to access their own LEA data. Provide training or professional development on how to analyze and use the data within the LEA. Encourage homeless liaisons to share this data within their LEA when advocating for revising policies and procedures. 
   • Consider how school discipline data may be part of a risk assessment for SEA monitoring of LEA McKinney-Vento programs. 

Recommendations for State Legislatures

Increasingly, states are changing policies to address disproportionate discipline in schools. Below are examples of state laws, regulations, and policies enacted to curb trends of disproportionate discipline for students experiencing homelessness. State legislators are encouraged to review our Model Policy on School Discipline for Students Experiencing Homelessness.

Best Practice Examples of School Discipline Policy Across the U.S.

Data Collection

State/Statute or Bill	Content	Best Practice
Minnesota 121A.57	Created a Student Discipline Working Group tasked with analyzing data on suspensions, exclusions, expulsions, and other disciplinary measures, disaggregated by categories including race, ethnicity, homelessness, disability, and foster care status.	Calls for accurate data on the rate in which students experiencing homelessness may be receiving disproportionate disciplinary actions.
Washington RCW 28A.300.544	Established and renewed a work group to improve educational outcomes for students experiencing homelessness, in foster care, and exiting juvenile rehabilitation facilities. Includes a review of data on a number of topics including Kindergarten readiness, high school completion, postsecondary enrollment, school attendance, school discipline. The work group is also tasked with making policy recommendations.	Gathers data and makes recommendations specific to the outcomes of students experiencing homelessness.

Disciplinary Action Related to Attendance

State/Statute or Bill	Content	Best Practice
Illinois  105 ILCS 5/26-12	Requires that school districts meet with a student experiencing homelessness, the custodial guardian of the student, relevant school personnel, and the homeless liaison to discuss barriers to attendance posed by homelessness, and propose a plan to remove these barriers, prior to referring the custodial guardian for governmental action as a result of the student’s truancy.	Requires participation of multiple advocates on behalf of the child or youth in the process of whether disciplinary actions will be taken against them, ensuring that the impact of homelessness is considered in the process.
Kansas  72-3126(2)	Adopts policy to consider the adverse impact of homelessness, including the obstacles to arrive at school in a timely fashion, lack of transportation, or a lack of other basic resources, on a student’s attendance and any resulting suspensions or expulsions, prior to making a determination on the student’s continued enrollment.	Ensures that students are not penalized for behavior which occurs as a direct result of the student experiencing homelessness.

Broad Suspension and Expulsion Reform

State/Statute or Bill	Content	Best Practice
Texas 37.005(d)	The campus behavior coordinator may coordinate with the school district’s homeless education liaison to identify appropriate alternatives to out-of-school suspension for a student who is homeless.	Recognizes that students experiencing homelessness do not have a stable environment to return to, and may otherwise be forced to return to in vulnerable situations if removed from the school building. Includes liaisons in decision making.
Texas 37.001(a)(4)(F)	Requires educators to consider mitigating factors such as whether the child is experiencing homelessness or in foster care, prior to making a determination of whether or not to suspend, expel, transfer a child to a disciplinary alternative education program, or place in a juvenile justice alternative education program.	Ensures that students are not penalized for behavior which occurs as a direct result of the student’s homelessness.
New Mexico HB 93	Requires each school board to modify their school discipline policy so that suspensions and expulsions are only to be used as a last resort, following a process which takes into account circumstances such as a student’s homelessness, foster care placement, or other adverse childhood experiences.	Ensures that students are not penalized for behavior which occurs as a direct result of the student’s homelessness.
Nevada NRS 388.1333; 392.4646; 392.4655; 392.466	Allows unaccompanied homeless youth to participate in their own discipline hearing. Requires a determination in consultation with the homeless liaison, that the homelessness of a student was not a factor in his or her behavior before deeming the student a habitual disciplinary problem. As part of a statewide framework for restorative justice, the Department of Education must identify and address the needs of homeless and unaccompanied students as well as addressing the disproportionate occurrences of suspension, expulsion or removal of students experiencing homelessness. Additionally, the Department must provide information on improving school climate through the use of positive behavioral and trauma-informed supports.	Includes liaisons in decision making. Ensures that students are not penalized for behavior which occurs as a direct result of the student’s homelessness. Commits to a reduction of disproportionate discipline practices.

[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance – United States, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/ind2023_su.html 

[2] U.S. Department of Education (2025). School Climate and Student Discipline Resources. https://www.ed.gov/teaching-and-administration/safe-learning-environments/school-safety-and-security/school-climate-and-student-discipline/school-climate-and-student-discipline-resources 

[3]  ibid.

[4]  McMorris, B.J., Beckman, K.J., Shea, G., Baumgartner, J., & Eggert, R.C. (2013). Applying Restorative Practices to Minneapolis Public School Students Recommended for Possible Expulsion: A Pilot Program Evaluation of the Family and Youth Restorative Conference Program. https://chyd.umn.edu/sites/hyd.umn.edu/files/2024-01/Beckman_LRC.pdf 

[5] Texas Appleseed and Texas Network of Youth Services (2017). Young, Alone and Homeless in the Lone Star State. https://report.texasappleseed.org/young-alone-homeless-texas-nov2017/ 

[6] Coalition for Homelessness Intervention & Prevention (2018). Home: Indianapolis Coordinated Community Plan to Solve Homelessness for Youth & Young Adults.

[7] Center for Public Integrity (2023). Homeless, Then Kicked out of School, https://publicintegrity.org/education/unhoused-and-undercounted/homeless-then-kicked-out-of-school-suspension-expulsion/.

[8] Minnesota-Linking Information for Kids. (2022). Homelessness as a Risk Factor for Disciplinary Outcomes, https://cascw.umn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Brief-56_508Web.pdf. 

[9] Shimberg Center for Housing Studies, University of Florida and Miami Homes for All (2017). Homelessness and Education in Florida: Impacts on Children and Youth. http://www.shimberg.ufl.edu/publications/homeless_education_fla171205RGB.pdf

[10] Erb-Downward and Blakeslee. (2021). Recognizing trauma: Why school discipline reform needs to consider student homelessness. sites.fordschool.umich.edu/poverty2021/files/2021/05/Poverty-Solutions_Recognizing-Trauma_School-Discipline-Reform_May2021-1.pdf