Since 2014, the number of homeless youth in California has jumped 20 percent, to more than 202,329, and accounts for nearly 4 percent of the overall public school population.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is a federal law, passed in 1987 and re-authorized in 2015, that guarantees certain rights for homeless children, regardless of whether they’re homeless for a week or years.

The law means that homeless children do not have to re-register at a different school every time they move, and districts must provide transportation to school regardless of where a homeless child is living. For example, if a child is living in a shelter in San Francisco but attending school in San Jose, the San Jose district must provide transportation to school every day.

Some districts do more than what’s required by law, by providing free backpacks, school supplies, and hygiene items; keeping schools open late so students have a quiet, safe place to study; hiring social workers to help families find housing and navigate services; contracting with food banks and other nonprofits so families have access to the necessities and providing extra tutoring and academic counseling to homeless students.

Read the full article on homeless children by Carolyn Jones at EdSource