School attendance lags for students in homeless shelters, report finds

The Advocates for Children is now calling on the Department of Education to direct federal COVID relief dollars to overhaul the education support system in shelters.

News 12 Staff

Oct 18, 2021, 4:52 PM

Updated 1,089 days ago

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A report released by Advocates for Children of New York claims students living in the city’s homeless shelters missed nearly 1 in every 4 days of school on average last winter and spring.
It says students in shelters had significantly more difficulty accessing an education than their permanently housed peers.
The Advocates for Children is now calling on the Department of Education to direct federal COVID relief dollars to overhaul the education support system in shelters.
A spokesperson for the DOE told News 12 in part, “Supporting students and families affected by homelessness remains a priority for the DOE, and over the past two years, we have almost doubled the number of dedicated staff members working in school and shelters to over 300."