COVID-19 and Homeless Students

Inequalities Before COVID-19 The Covid-19 pandemic, and its subsequent disruption in education, has unmasked underlying disparities people of lower socioeconomic standing face. As schools grapple with transitioning to online learning, many students will also bear the consequences. However, while the pandemic and online learning has been a large cause of educational setbacks recently, many gaps in education existed previously, especially for low income and homeless students. Educational gaps can be tied to lack of access to technology at home, the inability to have consistent internet connection, household income, and the instability of students’ living situations. Data collected in 2018 by the USC Annenberg in the Los Angeles area shows that about 27% of K-12 students in Los Angeles didn’t have secure access to a desktop or laptop computer nor to residential internet connection. These students mainly come from families in the bottom 20% of the income distribution, highlighting the strong association between household income and access to technology. Without access to proper technology and connection, students are put at an increasing disadvantage in completing homework assignments and other school work outside of the classroom. For example, according to the Pew Research Center, in 2018 58% of eighth grade students said they used the internet almost, if not everyday at home to do their work. As homework makes up a large portion of student learning and grades, it has become evident that students unable to access pivotal resources are unfairly left to work extra hard to make up for this or fall behind the other students.Technology and stable internet connection are necessities for education, particularly during Covid-19, however, a large sum of students lack these essentials. Education debt--the damage done on specific communities, influenced by socioeconomic/political-based discrimination--is accumulating at rapid speed, as students continue to suffer from lack of educational resources. In addition, an increasing number of students have become reliant on their school for meals. Statistics from the Los Angeles Unified School District reveal that a majority of students, some schools with up to 80%, eat at least one meal provided by the school. Furthermore, the number of students in this district who are offered free or reduced price meals has risen in recent years, with 72.4% of students qualifying in the 2015-2016 school year. The increasing reliance on schools to provide such basic needs for students speaks to the greater societal issues that perpetuate poverty cycles. Schools have been attempting to relieve some of the burden these problems place on low income households by enacting school meal programs like Breakfast in the Classroom, that deliver free food to classrooms. As data collection from the Public School Review links low incomes and food insecurity to lower academic performance, faculty and administrators have advocated for these meal programs in an effort to reduce educational gaps arising from increasing household income gaps. While schools have made large efforts to increase student engagement and create an equitable environment in the classroom, educational gaps are perpetuated outside of the classroom as well. The Los Angeles Unified School District reported that in the 2018-2019 school year, more than 19,500 students experienced homelessness, and more than 8,500 students lived in foster homes. Beyond the inability for these students to access technology and internet services and to have consistent access to nutritional meals, unstable housing can play a role in school attendance. Finding transportation to school, changing schools frequently, and lacking parental encouragement to attend school are just a few challenges often faced by students experiencing homelessness that can discourage them from their education. Widening of Inequalities Under COVID-19 Even prior to COVID-19, the number of homeless students in the LA Unified School District has been growing at a consistent rate as shown by this chart on the current homeless population. This rapid increase in homeless student enrollment has motivated LAUSD leaders to secure equitable resources so that schools can provide their homeless students with equitable resources to help them achieve academic success. While the government has passed the CARES Act in response to this pandemic, many of these funds are not directly allocated to homeless youth. Furthermore, homeless students have been found to be twice as likely to score lower on standardized tests than their peers according to a study done by LAUSD, proving that these burdens often hinder students’ success in an academic setting. With COVID-19, these gaps have further widened and worsened educational outcomes and readiness for schools that largely serve homeless and low-income students. School had been one of the few places where homeless students found stability and could interact with other students and faculty, an essential factor in keeping these children on-track. With many of these students lacking homes and access to technology, it has proven distance learning to be detrimental to the growth of homeless students. In fact, according to officials and advocates, over 195,000 homeless students have been more difficult to contact and are at risk of falling behind compared to their peers. This arises from the fact that since the advent of lockdown, many homeless families have scrambled to find shelter, and lack of unemployment has led many to double up on housing. The Federal Communications Commission also reported that over 20 million Americans had no adequate access to the internet, and a large portion were students of color. With constant changes in housing and environment, it proves much harder for homeless students to report to online learning and succeed. Furthermore, as parents lose jobs, the number of homeless students is expected to increase, burdening school districts even further. COVID-19 has revealed a greater systematic inequality that cannot be solved with more access to technology, but rather a holistic approach in ensuring many can learn in a stable and equitable environment. Besides education, schools have served to be a reliable source of basic resources for many students, such as access to food. The National School Lunch program that nearly served 35 million students daily in the United States has been disrupted under the pandemic. It threatens those who relied upon it for vital nutrients and support. Students from lower-income families and homeless backgrounds already prove to be at risk for poorer health, and the lack of meals may worsen this issue. Nutrition shortfalls further weaken the immune system and make it less likely for a child to succeed physically and academically. During lockdown, schools had been encouraged to use summer USDA funds to provide ready-to-go meals to students, however many school districts in the nation lack the needed funds. While schools develop new ways to safely distribute and obtain meals for these students under a pandemic, food insecurity proves to be a direct consequence of COVID-19 and distance learning. Ways to Reduce Inequalities in Education As the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately disrupted adequate accessibility and learning for many homeless and low-income students, schools have begun taking an inclusive approach to ensuring equal access to education. Since school closures have led to the loss of routine learning schedules and supervision, many educators have begun to emphasize the importance of counseling and training on learning disabilities, domestic violence, and advocacy. In the midst of these tumultuous times, schools need to ensure they can continue to provide similar standards of education as before while being inclusive of students from all backgrounds. Among other issues, the pandemic has revealed a greater systematic inequality among underserved student populations: unequal access to technology. Homeless students are much more likely to have no access to reliable technology and, most importantly, the Internet, which is a vital tool students need to participate in remote learning. While the allocation of funds to internet hotspots and devices may help educators call on for the government to allocate resources from the CARES Act equally, difficulties posed by living conditions still persist. Many students under the pandemic constantly face new living conditions and cannot keep up with school when they have no sense of stability or safety with nutrition or shelter. These problems stem from inequalities in wealth, and with many parents being front line workers surviving to pay their expenses, it becomes difficult for students to have equitable learning environments. Furthermore, the pandemic also exposes the learning difficulties of students who have disabilities and are from underserved backgrounds. Adapting to remote methods of education can pose severe interruptions in learning flow, which are only worsened when coupled with unequal access to technology. As such, schools must increase students’ accessibility to resources that may help them succeed. As the primary resource both parents and students rely on for education, teachers have much power over how education is passed onto the student. In class, this may be in the form of translated copies of books provided to students with language barriers, or services that lend laptops and remote learning devices to students in need. Increasing the availability of special-education staff may also enhance the learning of homeless students and other underserved communities. The COVID-19 crisis calls for an inclusive approach beyond just students and educators. The general public can contact state representatives and collectively lobby for equal allocation of resources not only to schools but also other areas such as employment and food benefits. When a student has a stable household and place to reside, they are much more likely to attend school and benefit. While distance learning is proving to be the primary form of education in many states this Fall, residents of each state must take whatever actions possible. This can begin with donations and requests for technology to allow students to have a stable method to connect to school. From there, educators can connect with students and keep track of them and other resources. Remote learning is now the new norm, and it is up to schools and educators to fit this new change to the growing demands and inequalities of their students

Researchers: Breitling, Susanna, Adira

Writers: Haley & Jainam

Editors: Brian, Shadie, Adira