Education Research Center POLICY BRIEF - Transition out of Homelessness: Following Black and Brown Students Experiencing Homelessness from High School to Higher Education - May 2024

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah

Increasing youth homelessness across the U.S. affects Black and Hispanic students disproportionately and carries major consequences during the transition from high school to higher education. This longitudinal study analyzes homelessness impacts by race/ethnicity over 2013-2022 in Texas, focusing on graduating seniors and their college enrollment. Using descriptive statistics and OLS linear regression with multiple cohorts and interaction terms, it reframes the homeless student narrative and examines graduation and any-college enrollment patterns.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

What I Studied

How I Analyzed the Data

Any-College Enrollment

OLS Linear Regression Models Predicting Any-College Enrollment

Education Research Center POLICY BRIEF [www.texaserc.utexas.edu](www.texaserc.utexas.edu) Transition out of Homelessness: Following Black and Brown Students Experiencing Homelessness from High School to Higher Education Dr. Desiree Viramontes May 2024 What I Studied Across the U.S., the number of youths who experience homelessness is increasing. The increase of youth homelessness is growing most rapidly for Black and Hispanic students and is occurring in both small and large states. In Texas, one of the states with the largest population of students experiencing homelessness, its youth homeless population is more than six times the national average. This research has examined the longitudinal and disaggregated impacts of homelessness on youth by race and ethnicity, specifically during the critical transition from high school to college. The purpose of this study is to examine the transition of graduating seniors who experience homelessness and their enrollment in college. To achieve this purpose, I addressed the following research questions in this study: (1) How do high school graduation rates vary across students based on their homeless status, race/ethnicity, and their interaction in Texas? (2) Among high school graduates, to what extent does homelessness by race impact students’ college enrollment for Black and Hispanic students in Texas? (3) Among students experiencing homelessness, how does the likelihood of high school graduation and college enrollment for Black and Hispanic students compare to that of White students in Texas? I analyze these questions over 9 years (between 2013-2022) for a longitudinal analysis. This study provides a counter-narrative of the student homeless population that includes a reframing of Black, Hispanic, and White students experiencing homelessness. Black students experiencing homelessness have stronger graduation rates and are found to enroll in higher education at higher rates in comparison to White students experiencing homelessness. Hispanic students comprise half of the student homeless population and require the inclusion of ethnicity to be seen in the data. The implications for future research, policy, and practice will become limitless when we begin to put race/ethnicity at the center of education for students experiencing homelessness. As a society we “other” students with labels of“homelessness,” “Black,”and “Hispanic.” Among the many labels, this will always impact research, policy, and practice until the nexus of our practice considers the implications of racism and the intersection it has with classism. How I Analyzed the Data I employed descriptive statistics and linear regression methods for continuous outcomes using models to better isolate the relationship between homelessness and students’ K-12 and college outcomes. I include data from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). The longitudinal study is comprised of five cohorts of students (2013-2022), each cohort is comprised of students qualifying as students experiencing homelessness during any time in their high school career as seen in Figure 1. Figure 1 Students are naturally identified in cohorts during their high school career and identify with their graduating year. This study honors common practices among educators and society. The study’s parameters are limited by the available data in the ERC, beginning in 2013 (freshman year) and up until the latest data was made current and available at the time of this dissertation, in 2022 (college enrollment/freshman year) . The four OLS linear regression models depicted examine college enrollment, any college in Table 1, from all higher education institutions in the Texas data between 2017-2021. The population of students included in the four models for any college was appended by each cohort, 2017 through 2021, which has a sample of 1.9 million students including non-homeless and students experiencin

FAQs

What transition does the policy brief focus on for students experiencing homelessness?

It examines the critical transition from high school to college, specifically for graduating seniors who experience homelessness and their subsequent college enrollment in Texas.

How long is the study period and how is the data structured?

The analysis covers 9 years between 2013 and 2022, structured into five student cohorts defined by high-school enrollment and graduating year.

What methods are used to analyze the relationship between homelessness and education outcomes?

The study employs descriptive statistics and OLS linear regression for continuous outcomes, incorporating models that progressively add demographic covariates and race-by-homeless interaction terms.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah