{"id":13,"date":"2015-05-17T13:58:14","date_gmt":"2015-05-17T13:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/?p=13"},"modified":"2015-05-22T18:01:46","modified_gmt":"2015-05-22T18:01:46","slug":"homeless-kids-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/2015\/05\/17\/homeless-kids-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Are The Homeless Kids Of Texas?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Learn more about the homeless student population in Texas and across the country.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Defining Homeless Kids<\/h3>\n<p>A federal law, the McKinney-Vento Act,\u00a0requires public schools to educate homeless kids. The act defines homeless children as those who &#8220;lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>They fall under one of several categories:<\/strong><br \/>\n<div class=\"bullets tick black\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>They share housing due to loss of housing or economic hardship. They&#8217;re living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds. They&#8217;re living in emergency or transitional shelters. They&#8217;ve been abandoned in hospitals. They&#8217;re awaiting foster care placement.<\/li>\n<li>Their primary nighttime residence is a public or private place &#8220;not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>They&#8217;re living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, and bus or train stations.<\/li>\n<li>They&#8217;re migratory children who either are migratory agricultural workers or whose parents or spouses are migratory agricultural workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div><br \/>\n<em>Sources: McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; U.S. Department of Education<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Homeless Student Population Climbing\u00a0Across Texas And U.S.<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_129\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 675px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-129 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/05\/enrollment.png\" alt=\"Graphic: Molly Evans\" width=\"675\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/05\/enrollment.png 675w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/05\/enrollment-300x222.png 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/05\/enrollment-450x333.png 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 675px) 100vw, 675px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 675px\" >Graphic\/Molly Evans<\/p><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8216;Homelessness knows no boundaries&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p>Barbara James, project director with the Texas Homeless\u00a0Education Office in Austin, says her agency encourages school districts to use code names or acronyms for homeless students to soften the stigma.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just don\u2019t refer to a child as being homeless but rather \u2018in a situation,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cThat makes it seem much more temporary, and also it doesn\u2019t seem so pejorative toward the child.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teaching educators about the signs of homelessness has helped students get out of bad situations. James recalls one Texas district where a teacher had noticed a student missing school often and wearing the same clothes.<\/p>\n<p>It was later discovered that the student was among 17 people sharing a two-bedroom apartment, a situation known as \u201cdoubling up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s a situation where an astute teacher, having gone to a class on homelessness, was able to make an impact on 17 people,\u201d James says.<\/p>\n<p>Homelessness isn\u2019t limited to big cities. James says rural areas have high poverty rates, and her office comes across many situations where families are living in substandard housing.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">James\u2019 office encounters suburban homeless situations as well, usually because a parent has lost a job and is overextended financially.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u201cHomelessness knows no boundaries,\u201d James says. \u201cIt really can happen to anyone.\u201d<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>&#8211;Krystina Martinez\/KERA<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-13-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/05\/Homeless-Fri-Conversation-Mixdown-1_01.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/05\/Homeless-Fri-Conversation-Mixdown-1_01.mp3\">http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/05\/Homeless-Fri-Conversation-Mixdown-1_01.mp3<\/a><\/audio><br \/>\n<em>Listen to <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/keranews.org\/post\/how-homelessness-affects-texas-kids\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Barbara James&#8217; conversation<\/em><\/a><em> with KERA.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Most Texas Homeless Students Share Housing With Others<\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_126\" style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 719px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-126\" src=\"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/05\/where_homless_spend_nights.jpg\" alt=\"Graphic: Molly Evans\" width=\"719\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/05\/where_homless_spend_nights.jpg 575w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/05\/where_homless_spend_nights-300x209.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/05\/where_homless_spend_nights-450x313.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 719px) 100vw, 719px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\"style=\"max-width:100%;  width: 719px\" >Graphic\/Molly Evans<\/p><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Interactive: Where North Texas Homeless Students Attend School<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Click on each marking on the map to see how many homeless students were enrolled in North Texas school districts during the 2013-2014 school year.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/a.tiles.mapbox.com\/v4\/mollyevans.m6f97oci\/attribution,zoompan,zoomwheel,geocoder,share.html?access_token=pk.eyJ1IjoibW9sbHlldmFucyIsImEiOiJOSEV3Z0h3In0.olUCSKMDpH04IvfHDj7GvQ\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"embed-container\" style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>Source: Texas Education Agency; Note: Preliminary counts for 2013-\u201914; Map\/Molly Evans<\/em><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Where To Turn For Help<\/h3>\n<div class=\"bullets tick black\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/nchespp.serve.org\/profile\/TX\" target=\"_blank\">National Center for Homeless Education<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/tea.texas.gov\/index2.aspx?id=25769814474\" target=\"_blank\">Texas Education Agency<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.utdanacenter.org\/theo\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Texas Homeless Education Office<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/homelessyouthnetwork.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Homeless Youth Network<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dallasisd.org\/Page\/23554\" target=\"_blank\">Dallas Independent School District<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fwisd.org\/pages\/FWISD\/Departments_Programs\/Departments__L-Z_\/Student_Support_Services\/News\/O_P_E_N__Doors\">Fort Worth Independent School District<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pisd.edu\/about.us\/departments\/student.services.shtml#homeless\">Plano Independent School District<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aisd.net\/AISD\/Default.aspx?alias=www.aisd.net\/aisd\/fit\">Arlington Independent School District<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dentonisd.org\/Page\/1190\">Denton Independent School District<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn more about the homeless student population in Texas and&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":89,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-graduate-homeless-in-high-school","byline-molly-evans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":66,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions\/248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/homeless-in-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}