Number of Homeless Students Remains Steady
By: Alexandra Stone
Updated: January 17, 2013
The number of homeless students in AISD has remained steady over the past several years with more than 1,700 students listed as homeless in both 2010 and 2011.
Representatives with Families in Transition, who handle homeless student cases, say there will likely be close to 1,800 homeless students on their record books by the end of this school year.
Mckinney Vento law protects the rights of homeless students guaranteeing them services like what Families in Transition offers, and the law states who exactly gets classified as homeless.
"It means they don't have fixed, adequate and regular nighttime residence," Stephanie Clayton, a Families in Transition worker, said.
According to Clayton, those kids could live in shelters, in cars, in hotels, or simply in a home that isn't permanent.
And local shelters are seeing a trend.
"You know, what we're seeing is a lot younger crowd," Jena Taylor, Executive Director of Faith City, said.
According to numbers from the district, there are more homeless students in lower grades than at the high schools, although Families in Transition says that could be due to a lack of reporting.
That's where staff training comes in to make sure no one falls through the cracks.
Right now, Tascosa High School and San Jacinto Elementary have the highest number of homeless students, followed by Emerson Elementary.
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