California has one of the highest rates of homelessness among Native American students, according to a new report from Schoolhouse Connection, a national homeless youth advocacy group.
During the 2022–23 school year, approximately 450,000 Native American students were enrolled in public schools across the U.S., including 46,000 who attend Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools, which operate 183 school sites on 64 Native reservations across 23 states.
Among those in public schools, about 6 percent of Native American students were identified as experiencing homelessness — the second most overrepresented population after Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islanders. The same was true of 5.2 percent of Native American students enrolled in BIE schools.
Under the federal McKinney-Vento Act, local educational agencies are required to count their homeless students throughout the school year and ensure they receive services. In California, the 2021 passage of Assembly Bill 27 requires LEAs to train everyone who works with students — from bus drivers to cafeteria workers to teachers — on how to recognize potential signs of homelessness.
“Schools can’t solve homelessness, but they can ensure the students are safe in the classroom and getting the education they need to get out of homelessness,” Schoolhouse Connection Executive Director Barbara Duffield told CalMatters in July when California released the latest statewide data on homeless youth. “That starts with identifying the child who’s homeless.”
Supporting Native students experiencing homelessness comes with unique challenges, particularly in very rural and remote reservation communities, the report notes. Identification can be difficult due to cultural nuances, stigma and isolation, and even students who are identified may struggle to access resources that help them meet basic needs including transportation, access to food, hygiene products and safe and stable housing due to geographic barriers and limited local resources.
The latest resource from Schoolhouse Connection outlines key challenges and three proven strategies for identifying and supporting Native students experiencing homelessness in Indian Country, which generally refers to lands where Native American tribes exercise some degree of self-governance and jurisdiction.
Increase coordination between school systems
Because public schools and BIE schools often serve the same students — either through student transfers or when BIE schools feed into public schools — improved coordination between these two systems can help to reduce the significant gaps in both student identification and the continuity of support services youth receive.
Understand the factors that deter Native students and families from self-identifying
“Native American families may not consider circumstances like sharing the housing with others or substandard housing as homelessness — particularly in areas where poor housing conditions are widespread,” the report states. “Many families believe that simply having ‘a roof over our heads’ means they are not homeless — even if that roof leaks or the home lacks heat, plumbing, kitchen facilities, or otherwise jeopardizes healthy child development. These conditions can have serious impacts on students’ well-being and educational outcomes.”
With few shelters or motels in Indian Country, the report notes that students experiencing homelessness are more likely to stay with others temporarily (often called doubling-up), making identification more difficult. LEAs should ensure staff have an understanding of cultural views on family and homelessness.
Build and strengthen partnerships
To effectively support families, Native homeless liaisons in both public and BIE schools must first build trust and create a welcoming environment. The report also recommends liaisons engage their local tribal leaders to raise awareness about student homelessness and its impact on education by sharing local data.
“In many reservation-based areas, local resources may be limited or nonexistent — so it’s important to think expansively and creatively about what ‘community’ means,” the report states. “For instance, some reservation-based schools are located two or more hours from the nearest wholesale grocery store, major retailer, or donation center. In Browning, Montana — on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation — school liaisons regularly collaborated with partners located across the Rocky Mountains, more than two hours away, to secure essential supplies and support for students. These kinds of cross-regional partnerships can bridge critical gaps and ensure that even the most remote schools have access to needed resources.”
While this resource is focused on those in rural areas, future Schoolhouse Connection resources on supporting Native students experiencing homelessness in urban areas will be available later this year.
