One would hope that the number of homeless students in our state would have shrunk, at least a bit, since the last time we posted the findings, but that’s sadly not the case. In fact, the number has been swelling at an alarming rate. From 2008 to 2013, almost 10,000 students in our state became homeless, bringing the total for 2013 to 30,609.
OSPI reports that pinpointing the reasons for the increase is hard, but cites the lack of housing and employment options as the main factors.
Keeping track of homeless students is a requirement of the federal McKinney-Vento Act,
which ensures that homeless children have access to “the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as provided to other children and youth.”
Our state receives $950,000/year from the feds to help our homeless student population and that money goes to districts as competitive grants, allocating more funds where there is greater need.
Learn more about what constitutes as a homeless student and how the federal money is invested here.