The United States Department of Justice has issued new federal guidelines to help homeless students across the country. The new guidelines, which will take effect on October 1, 2016, are part of the federal legislation called Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2015.
Federal data from the 2013-14 school year found that there are around 1.3 million homeless students enrolled in U.S. public schools, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Education. Past studies found that homeless students face academic, social, and socio-emotional issues due to their condition. Being homeless lowered these youngsters' educational attainment and raised their chances of dropping out of school.
Department Of Education's Partnership With State & Local Partners
According to the Department of Education's press release, the new guidelines will work side-by-side with the school districts in the Washington state and across America to provide the important tools and resources homeless students need from preschool to higher education. These groups aim to give a stable and safe education and environment to homeless students.
They will do this by assigning and training school liaisons within each U.S. school district. The guidelines will also seek the assistance of different groups such as law enforcement, juvenile and family courts, public housing agencies, and mental health organizations.
Homeless children tend to move around a lot while their parents look for work in various places. As a result, these families end up in streets or homeless shelters, with the kids' academic performance dropping significantly with each location transfer they go through. Thanks to the new guidelines, older students who frequently moved from one area to the next will be given partial credit for what they've completed in their previous schools.
Homeless Students In America
Around 12 percent of homeless children in the U.S. are not enrolled in school and 45 percent do not go to school regularly, The Philadelphia Tribune reported. In Oklahoma, for instance, the number of homeless students has increased by 55 percent in just four years.
Oklahoma Sen. Kay Floyd said the state "absolutely" has a big homeless youth problem, according to HPPR. As of now, there are around nearly 28,000 homeless students recorded in the state, with some of them living in unsheltered areas like parks, cars, and abandoned buildings.
Homeless students may not say the exact status of their living conditions, but it can be determined just by studying their appearances and school performances. They often have poor health, wear the same clothes repeatedly, have increased absences, and have low school-work quality.
