During the 2018-2019 school year, North Carolina public schools reported that 34,725* students enrolled in grades K-12 experienced homelessness during the school year.
*Based on latest official national unduplicated data.
The chart depicts national data counts that have been unduplicated and aggregated during federal processing. Students will only be counted once within each state.
While the majority of NC K-12 students experiencing homelessness live in the more populous regions of the State, both urban and rural regions face unique challenges in identifying and serving the educational needs of these students.
The majority of NC K-12 students identified as homeless live in doubled-up situations (sharing housing). Families living doubled up are often confined to one room and are frequently asked to leave without notice. They may live in fear of causing a problem for their host, knowing that they could be kicked out at any time. Children and youth often do not have space to study and cannot get sufficient rest due to overcrowding or stress; thus, they may not be prepared to perform well in school.
During the 2018-2019SY, 34,725 students were identified as experiencing homelessness. Within that total count, 16.34% had a qualifying disability, while 5.97% were English as second language speakers. Only 0.49% of the total student count were also identified as being migrant.
Approximately 9.5% of students who are experiencing homelessness as reported annually by NC PK-12 public schools are unaccompanied homeless youth (UHY).
Unaccompanied Homeless Youth are those children and youth who experience homelessness (lack a fixed, regular, and adequate residence) and are unaccompanied (not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian).
