Nearly 1.17 million homeless students were enrolled in the nation’s schools in 2011-12, the National Center on Homeless Education’s annual report finds.
That’s a 10 percent increase from the prior school year, and nearly a 25 percent jump since 2009-10. Fewer students now live without any shelter, but more are “doubled up” with other friends or families—a situation that prior research has found contributes to high mobility and academic difficulties. More than 3,500 school districts now receive federal grants to support education for their homeless students, a 16 percent increase since the 2009-10 school year, the study found.
