A new report shows students in New York City living in homeless shelters have an alarmingly low attendance rate in schools.

Advocates for Children of New York released the report stating students living in shelters had an overall attendance rate of 78.9% in the fall of 2011. That's almost 11% lower than the attendance rate for permanent housed students.

The group is now calling on the Department of Education to direct federal COVID-19 relief dollars toward hiring shelter-based staff that can help ensure homeless students get to school every day. The DOE says it is hiring 50 additional community coordinators to help students in temporary housing and meet their needs.

The DOE issued a statement saying, "We are being intentional with all funds to avoid making long term commitments with short term resources and continue to work towards removing barriers to success in the lives of our most vulnerable students."