COMMENTARY | Homeless students deserve the same education as their peers
Improving educational outcomes for all of Oregon’s students is urgent business.
That’s why it was so important to me to add a provision in the Every Student Succeeds Act, passed by Congress in 2016, to require the publication of graduation rates for homeless students, and young people in foster care, on state report cards. This key provision to the overall legislation, which gives teachers more authority in their classroom, ensures the challenges faced by homeless and foster-care students get the attention they deserve.
Young students are severely affected when they are without housing stability, and it is long past time for us to recognize this fact and take action. Even "Sesame Street," to highlight these issues for kids, has created a Muppet character that experiences homelessness.
We can use Oregon Department of Education data, published as a result of the amendment I secured in the Every Student Succeeds Act, to illustrate the challenge: in the 2017-18 school year, Oregon students who self-identified as homeless had a high school graduation rate of 54 percent. The 22,000 students in Oregon without housing stability deserve better. Thankfully, ODE shares the commitment to providing quality education to every single student in our state, no matter their living situation.
Homeless students have a right to the same education as their peers, and we must act to support them. But more must be done.
That is why, in 2019, I am calling for increased funding for the McKinney Vento program that provides Homeless Assistance Grants for our communities to work on behalf of students and their families experiencing homelessness. Increased funding for this program will help these students thrive.
I worry for students who are experiencing the stress and anxiety that come with moving from place to place, and not feeling like you have a home. I don’t know how we expect these young people to learn and excel in school when they lack stable housing.
Also this year, I will renew my push for more federal funding in schools for mental health services and for more counselors in schools. The Oregon Health Authority has reported that students graduate at a higher rate when they feel like someone in their life cares about them, and oftentimes, that person is a teacher or counselor at their school.
I have met with so many passionate educators who teach all over our state, fighting hard every single day to help get their students to graduation day. Their work is never ending and full of real challenges compounded when their students are homeless, moving between shared housing or shelters, or sleeping in motels. I am encouraged by these educators, and I pledge my support to their good work.
While we work to end chronic homelessness in our state, we should not forget how this crisis hurts kids and their education.
As an important piece of my work alongside housing advocates in Oregon to ensure all individuals have access to quality, affordable housing, I want to reaffirm my commitment to support all students in Oregon, and especially those struggling with their own housing, or constantly on the move.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) has served in Congress since 1996.
FURTHER READING: The complicated overlap of housing, health care and education in Oregon’s rural communities
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