Supporting Students Who Are Experiencing Homelessness - A Brief Guide for Teachers and Schools

Oct 15, 2026

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Supporting Students Who Are Experiencing Homelessness provides educators and administrators with an overview of student homelessness and the federal guidelines that shape school and postsecondary responses. It explains the McKinney-Vento definition of homeless youth, notes how ESSA revisions support broader access, and frames protections as a minimum standard. The guide also reviews national statistics, highlights barriers to accurate identification, and discusses COVID-19 impacts alongside promising practices that promote academic engagement and success.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

National Statistics on Student Homelessness

Identifying Student Homelessness

Trends Before and During the Pandemic

Supporting Students Who Are Experiencing Homelessness A Brief Guide for Teachers and Schools ILLUSTRAT IONS BY DAVID VOGIN By Ronald E. Hallett and Linda Skrla Anastasia sleeps on her friend’s couch and borrows her friend’s clothes to wear to school. Her dad kicked her and her mom out of the house after a fight that turned physical. She’s unsure where her mom is staying, but her mom assures Anastasia that she’s fine. Diego lives with his parents and his dog in a bedroom illegally subleased to them by other renters after his parents lost their suburban home due to a job layoff and illness. He hides his dog when the landlord comes around because pets are not allowed. Fredrick lives with his two brothers, one sister, and mom in a motel room after a bad storm three months ago made their old house unlivable. He attends high school in a different school district because the storm also destroyed his old school. Fredrick worries about what will happen to his family because his mom’s place of work has not reopened following the storm. * *Although we have used pseudonyms, these three examples of young people experiencing homelessness are recent and real. Among the myriad families we have worked with, we selected these because their experiences in urban and small-town settings in three different states are common, but are not typically thought of as homelessness. T hese young people, though their circumstances differ, have one thing in common—they all meet the federal definition of homeless youth under guidelines spelled out by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.1 Although this act has been in place since 1987, the act and its implications for schools are not as widely known as they should be among educators and administrators. The McKinney-Vento Act, including revisions made during its reauthorization in Title IX, Part A, of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015),2 defines youth experiencing homelessness in a far more expansive way than traditional conceptualizations. We offer details below, but in brief, the act defines homelessness as any student without “a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.”3 It also provides legal guidelines Ronald E. Hallettis a professor of education in the LaFetra College of Education atthe University of La Verne anda former elementary special education teacher. Linda Skrla is a professor in the department of Leadership, School Counseling, and Sport Management at the University of North Florida. A former public middle and high schoolteacher and administrator, she was previously a faculty member and department chair at the University of the Pacific anda faculty member and associate dean at Texas A&M University. Hallett and Skrla are the authors of Serving Students Who Are Homeless: AResource Guide for Schools, Districts, and Educational Leaders (Teachers College Press, 2017). Hallett also coauthored Addressing Homelessness and Housing Insecurity in Higher Education: Strategies for Educational Leaders (Teachers College Press, 2019). 4 AMERICAN EDUCATOR | SPRING 2021 and funding that can be used to help improve schooling experiences for youth who are homeless. Although McKinney-Vento primarily focuses on protections related to students in preschool through high school, the revisions as part of ESSA also lay the foundations for college access, and higher education practitioners have begun to build similar protections.4 Since the federal protections are more clearly outlined for students in high school or lower grades, we focus primarily on summarizing that information in this article. However, our sidebar on page 8 includes more information for higher education practitioners. We believe that educators, administrators, and staff members play important roles in the lives of students experiencing homelessness. Our goal is to provide educators with information and tools† as they continue their essential work of educating all students. In this article, we give an ove

FAQs

What federal definition is used for homeless youth in this guide?

The guide states that homeless youth are students without “a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence,” using the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act definition.

Why is it difficult to identify the exact number of students experiencing homelessness?

The text explains that students are highly mobile and may experience shame, which reduces the likelihood of reporting their housing status, so estimates can underestimate reality.

How does ESSA affect protections for students experiencing homelessness?

The guide notes that while McKinney-Vento mainly covers preschool through high school, ESSA revisions lay foundations for college access, and higher education practitioners have begun building similar protections.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by McQueen