Each quarter, SchoolHouse Connection highlights new research on the connections between homelessness, education, and child and youth well-being. This quarter, we feature research that underscores the importance of stability across the full educational continuum. 

• In early childhood, studies show how homelessness and instability can affect children’s development and later academic achievement. 
• In K12 education, new analyses highlight persistent underidentification of students experiencing homelessness, gaps between education and homelessness-response systems, and the promise of school-housing partnerships. 
• In higher education, recent reports show how homelessness and financial aid shape students’ ability to enroll, persist, and complete education beyond high school. 

Together, these findings suggest practical opportunities for action to support children, youth, and families.

Early Childhood

Homelessness in Early Childhood and Third-Grade Academic Achievement: Do Executive Function Skills Mediate or Moderate Risk?

This study looked at how homelessness in early childhood is connected to children’s later math and reading achievement. It focused on executive functioning skills, such as planning ahead, making decisions, and managing information and tasks, to see whether those skills help explain or change the relationship between early homelessness and later academic outcomes.

The authors used data from 496 children, including 91 children who experienced homelessness as identified through their local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). HMIS uses the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of homelessness, which includes people staying in shelters, using other homeless assistance programs, or living unsheltered. It does not include children staying in motels or temporarily staying with others, often referred to as “doubled-up.”

Key findings:

• Experiencing homelessness in early childhood predicted lower executive functioning and lower third grade achievement.
• Lower third-grade math and reading achievement was explained, at least in part, by the effect of early homelessness on executive functioning skills. In other words, homelessness may affect children’s academic outcomes partly by disrupting the development of skills like planning, decision-making, and managing tasks.
• Executive functioning skills did not appear to change the level of risk associated with early childhood homelessness. That is, stronger executive functioning skills did not significantly reduce or increase the relationship between early homelessness and later academic achievement.

Key takeaway:

Improving the development of executive functioning skills in young children experiencing homelessness may have longer-term benefits for academic achievement. Strategies may include supporting parent-child interactions that help children learn and grow, as well as increasing access to high-quality early learning programs.

From Resources to Routines: The Importance of Stability in the Developmental Environment 

In a recent working paper, the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University summarized research on the role of stability in children’s health and development. Although the paper is not specific to children experiencing homelessness, homelessness often creates unpredictable environments and disrupts the stability that young children need.

The paper summarizes existing research on: (1) how stability affects children’s health and development, especially in early childhood; and (2) what research says about ways to promote greater stability for children. See page 8 for additional details related to housing and neighborhoods.

Key takeaway:

Stability is essential for children’s development, especially in early childhood. While homelessness disrupts stability, there are policies and practices that can help create more stable conditions for children. For tips and tools to support young children experiencing homelessness, see SchoolHouse Connection’s resources here.

K-12

Student Homelessness in a County Governance Landscape: Fragmented Systems, Disconnected Schools

This study examined how education systems and local homelessness-response systems may be disconnected. The authors used a single embedded case study approach, reviewing documents and interviewing county-level and school district staff in one large county. They looked at whether, and how, county homelessness planning included school district staff and addressed the needs of students experiencing homelessness.

Key findings:

• The county’s strategic response to homelessness largely excluded school districts and school staff. As a result, educators’ perspectives were largely absent from how the county defined the problem and set its priorities.
• Differences in how schools and county agencies define homelessness, prioritize needs, and how they see their role in addressing the needs of the county’s residents experiencing homelessness contributed to the lack of collaboration.
• It is important for school leaders—superintendents, principals, and homeless liaisons— to become more actively involved in addressing issues related to homelessness among children, youth, and families. While many school leaders were not specifically invited to participate in strategic planning discussions, they also weren’t explicitly excluded from it.  
• Ultimately, children and youth experiencing homelessness were not prioritized in the county’s homelessness-response planning. Schools and districts were not asked to lead or co-lead any of the county’s 47 approved initiatives. As a result, few county resources were directed to schools or districts to support their role in responding to student homelessness.

Key takeaway:

Schools serve many children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness, but they are often left out of county and city homelessness-response planning and initiatives. Counties and other municipalities can reframe their narratives on homelessness and align their funding structures to ensure students and families who are experiencing less visible forms of homelessness are still part of the conversation. Education systems also can be important partners in local homelessness-response efforts.

Undercounted and Underserved? Students Experiencing Homelessness in the U.S.

This new analysis from the Institute for Children, Poverty, & Homelessness used Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data to examine potential underidentification of students experiencing homelessness. The analysis compared student self-reports of homelessness from YRBS with the number of students identified through the federal McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth program. Because YRBS is administered to high school students, the analysis also extrapolated the findings to earlier grades.

Key findings:

• While exploratory, the analysis suggests that approximately 320,500 students experiencing homelessness may have gone unidentified during the 2022–2023 school year.
• The analysis also found that most states may be underidentifying students experiencing homelessness.

Key takeaway:

Although all data on student homelessness have limitations, this analysis offers a new way to estimate potential underidentification using YRBS data.

School-housing partnership achievement and challenges in Boston, MA: Key insights from participant, educator, and administrative data 

This report includes findings from an evaluation of the Early Homelessness Intervention and Prevention program (EHIP) in Boston, MA. EHIP connects families at risk of homelessness (e.g., those facing an expected loss of stable, independent housing that is rented or owned as part of the household) to services to stabilize their housing. The evaluation included data from participating families, Boston Public Schools staff, and administrative records.

Key findings:

• EHIP improved families’ housing stability as well as their access to higher quality housing. 
• Parents who participated in EHIP reported improved well-being. Children also showed improvements in well-being and academic outcomes, including reductions in chronic absenteeism and improvements in overall attendance.
• Although families’ experiences with EHIP were generally positive, some families reported challenges using housing vouchers. These challenges were likely outside the control of the school district and housing agencies. Families also continued to experience high levels of financial and food insecurity.
• School district staff reported challenges identifying students at risk of homelessness and suggested that systematic screening could be helpful.

Key takeaway:

School-housing partnerships can be an important strategy for improving children’s housing stability, health, well-being, and academic outcomes. SHC resources:

• Solving School-Age Homelessness Through School-Housing Partnerships
• Stable Homes, Stable Schools: The Imperative of Doing Things Differently

Higher Education

Removing Barriers, Building Futures: Data-Informed Policies to Support College Students Experiencing Homelessness 

SchoolHouse Connection and Trellis Strategies’ released two data reports analyzing data from the Trellis Strategies Student Financial Wellness Survey (Fall 2024) to explore the needs of students experiencing homelessness. 

Key findings:

• Across almost all of the indicators of basic needs and stability analyzed, students who experienced homelessness reported greater hardship than both first-generation students who had not experienced homelessness and stably housed students. 
• Only 21% of students who were identified as experiencing homelessness through  the survey, using the McKinney-Vento definition of homelessness, self-identified as experiencing homelessness, reinforcing the importance of asking more nuanced questions about students’ housing needs to ensure all students experiencing homelessness are appropriately identified and connected to supports. 
• For a companion update using 2025 data, please see our new resource here: The Crisis Continues: Removing Barriers, Building Futures. 

Key takeaway:

Students experiencing homelessness in higher education face greater barriers to accessing basic needs, and may need additional support to ensure higher education enrollment, persistence, and completion. The report includes specific recommendations for practice and policy at the local, state, and federal level.

New Longitudinal Federal Data Reveal a Troubling Reality: Students’ Basic Needs Insecurity Persists

The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs at Temple University analyzed longitudinal data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:20/22). The data come from two surveys of first-time college students: one conducted when students began college in the 2019–2020 academic year, and another conducted during the 2021–2022 academic year. Findings are reported for students who experienced homelessness, based on the McKinney-Vento definition, in the 30 days before completing the survey.

Key findings:

• Students who reported recent homelessness in the 2019–2020 survey were among those most likely to leave college by the 2021–2022 survey. More than one-third (35.7%) of students who reported recent homelessness in the first survey were not enrolled in college two years later.
• Some students reported higher rates of homelessness, including Pell recipients; Black, Latino/a, and Multiracial students; students ages 24 to 29; students with dependent children; and students enrolled at private, for-profit institutions.
• More than three-quarters (76.1%) of students who reported recent homelessness also reported housing insecurity in the year before completing the survey.
• Students who experienced food insecurity in the year before the survey had 3.10 times the odds of reporting recent homelessness. Students who experienced housing insecurity had 11.93 times the odds of reporting recent homelessness.
• Despite the clear need for support, nearly two-thirds (62.6%) of students who reported recent homelessness said they did not know whether their institution offered emergency financial assistance. Students experiencing homelessness applied for emergency aid at higher rates than students who did not report recent homelessness, suggesting that awareness of available aid may be an important barrier.

Key takeaways:

Homelessness in college can have serious consequences for students’ persistence and completion. The risk of homelessness is not evenly distributed, underscoring the need for targeted outreach and support. Emergency financial aid can help, but students need clear information about whether it is available and how to access it. These findings also point to the importance of helping homeless and foster youth make informed decisions about where to pursue education beyond high school, including the true costs of attendance and the supports available to them.

No Place to Land: Housing Insecurity Among Caregiving College Students – New America 

New America partnered with Trellis Strategies to analyze data from the Trellis Strategies Student Financial Wellness Survey (Fall 2025) to explore housing insecurity among caregiving college students.

Key findings:

• Among caregiving students who reported moving three or more times in the past year, nearly half (46%) said they moved to be closer to school. Almost one-third (32%) said they moved because they could not afford rent, and nearly one-quarter (23%) said they moved because their housing was unsafe for themselves or their family. These findings point to the importance of considering the location, affordability, and safety of housing for caregiving students.
• Notably, nearly three-quarters (73%) of caregiving students reported that they did not know they could ask their institution for additional financial aid to help cover housing costs.
• Housing discrimination also affected caregiving students’ access to housing. Black students and students experiencing basic needs insecurity reported the highest rates of housing discrimination when looking for housing.

Key takeaway:

For caregiving students, stable, affordable, and safe housing is not guaranteed. Access to housing that meets caregiving students’ needs is essential to supporting their postsecondary goals. Expanding awareness of available financial aid for housing costs may be one important tool to help meet those needs.

Public Benefits and Financial Aid Support Education Beyond High School and Long-Term Economic Well-Being for Low-Income Young Adults

Researchers used data from a subset of respondents (n=3,735)  from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to understand the role of public benefits and financial aid in the educational decisions and long term earnings of individuals from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. While not specific to students experiencing homelessness, key findings demonstrate the importance of public benefits and financial aid on educational decision making and longer term economic well-being.

Key findings:

• Young adults who received the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were more likely to enroll in education beyond high school.
• Public benefits and financial aid work together to support educational persistence and success. Public benefits can help young adults enroll and remain in education after high school, while financial aid can make it possible for them to engage in their education full time.
• Receiving both public benefits and financial aid is a strong predictor of degree completion for young adults pursuing education beyond high school.
• By age 40, earning a bachelor’s degree was associated with $18,400 more in annual income. Earning an associate degree was associated with reduced poverty and improved economic mobility.

Key takeaway:

Education beyond high school can play an important role in longer term economic well-being. For young adults with low incomes, including youth experiencing homelessness, connecting to public benefits and financial aid can help support access to and completion of education beyond high school.