Educating the Newly Homeless Youth

"But not all districts accept their obligations under the law.

Barbara Duffield of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth says a homeless liaison in a large metropolitan area told her of about 20 homeless high school students who had been denied enrollment. Administrators at the schools were worried that those students would drag down test scores and make it harder for the school to avoid sanctions under the No Child Left Behind law.

Duffield says data on the number of homeless students usually lag well behind the real figures. But based on her surveys, she says, many districts have reported increases of 10 percent — some as high as 40 percent over the past year. Some of the increases may be due to better reporting, she says.

But the double whammy of foreclosures and tough economic times is taking a toll.

A Child's Place, which helps homeless kids in Charlotte, N.C., recently has had families request help in getting food, says Annabelle Suddreth, the group's executive director. 'That's a new trend for us,' she says."