The number of homeless students in New York City has hit a record high. Data from the Advocates for Children of New York revealed more than 146,000 public school students were homeless during the 2023-2024 school year.
This means 1 in 8 students across the district were either in shelters or living temporarily with friends or family. That’s a 23% increase from the more than 119,000 homeless students the year prior.
The surge of kids living in transitional housing is being attributed in part to the city’s affordability crisis.
According to a 2022 report by New York’s Office of Budget Policy and Analysis, 20% of New York households were paying 50% of their income for housing.
An increase in migrant families also pushed the number of homeless students higher. The city doesn’t track student immigration status, but a city analysis says there were roughly 50,000 migrant families with children in New York City shelters over the summer.
Advocates for homeless children said the city should take steps like ensuring families are placed in shelters near their children’s schools, and getting rid of 60-day shelter limits imposed by Mayor Eric Adams, D, last year.
The new report also pointed out the serious issues homelessness can cause pertaining to a student’s success in school. Half of all students in temporary housing and 67% of students in shelters were chronically absent.
Students living in shelters also dropped out of high school at triple the rate of their peers. New York state is currently looking into the Foundation Aid Formula, which determines how much funding school districts receive.
Advocates for Children of New York said it hasn’t been updated in over 15 years.
