ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the causes and consequences of homelessness as well as the impact of homelessness on children’s school enrollment, attendance, and academic success. It provides an overview of federal policies created to respond to educational barriers faced by homeless students and assess the effectiveness of these policies. The chapter describes successful state and local educational practices and the challenges faced by educators and advocates. At its essence, homelessness is the manifestation of severe poverty and lack of affordable housing; and homeless families are too poor to afford housing. During the 1980s, shifts in welfare, wage, and housing policies combined with macroeconomic changes to create the conditions for modern day family homelessness. A major challenge to the education of homeless students is the continuing lack of awareness of homelessness, and of homeless students’ educational rights, among school personnel and communities.
