Borough Park Senator Simcha Felder is sponsoring a bill, with support from Bay Ridge Senator Martin Golden, that will improve educational outcomes for homeless students. The bill will amend the current education law, and require that the governor and the legislature will have access to data on homeless students.
The measure comes as an Institute for Children and Poverty (ICP) study found middle-class neighborhoods in Brooklyn, including Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Borough Park, saw a 183 percent rise in homeless students.
“Every student deserves the opportunity the best education possible. Homeless students are already facing enough of a struggle, and we must do everything we can to ease their burden,” said Felder.
“By learning more about the education outcomes of homeless students we will gain a better understanding of their needs, and hopefully that will enable us to provide them more opportunities improve their situation and to excel in life,” he added.
Under the legislation, the Commissioner of the State Education Department would be required to submit a report that would include the number of homeless students enrolled in public school as well as their academic performance. This information would include students’ scores on statewide assessment exams, English language proficiency, dropout rates, suspensions, and graduation rates. Data will then be organized by race, income, and gender, as well as other determining factors, and get broken down to the state and district level.
The bill references a New York Times article from February 2014 in which the State Education Department reported that over 80,000 school-age children in New York City are homeless. The number continues to grow following the 2008 financial crisis, making it difficult for students to stay in school.
According to the ICP , one-fifth of homeless children across the country are left back a grade and 16 percent take special education classes. One-third of homeless students read at the same grade level as a student half their age.
This data is being collected in the hopes of developing an effective homeless education policy, including a discussion on the best way to utilize Title I funding. The Commissioner will collaborate with not-for-profit organizations and those familiar with the homeless community to develop a better understanding of the barriers faced by homeless students.
