Student Homelessness in Arizona: Understanding and Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness Beyond the Count

Student homelessness remains elevated despite a recent decline. After rising sharply in the years following the pandemic and reaching a record high, the number of Arizona students experiencing homelessness decreased in the most recent school year. However, student homelessness remains above prepandemic levels.

Racial disparities in student homelessness persist. Hispanic/Latine, Black/African American, and Native American/Alaska Native students continue to experience disproportionately high rates of homelessness. Recent trends show particularly persistent increases among Black/African American and Native American/Alaska Native students.

Students experiencing homelessness continue to face substantial academic achievement gaps. Proficiency in both English language arts and mathematics remains considerably lower among students experiencing homelessness than among Arizona students overall.

Graduation rates have improved since the pandemic. Students experiencing homelessness have made meaningful gains in high school graduation rates in recent years. Despite this progress, graduation outcomes remain below national levels for students experiencing homelessness.

Chronic absenteeism remains a significant challenge. Although absenteeism has declined from pandemic-era highs statewide, students experiencing homelessness continue to be chronically absent at substantially higher rates than the overall student population.

Align homeless student counting methodologies with federal and state standards.
Arizona primarily reports student homelessness using an October 1 Point-in-Time count, which likely underestimates the number of students experiencing homelessness over the course of the school year. In contrast, federal McKinney-Vento reporting relies on cumulative annual counts that capture all identified students. Expanding the public reporting and use of cumulative annual counts would provide a more complete picture of student homelessness and better inform policy, funding, and cross-agency coordination.

Strengthen cross-sector collaboration to improve identification and service delivery, including meaningful partnerships with tribal communities.
Barriers in coordination across schools, housing providers, and community organizations continue to limit timely identification and support for students experiencing homelessness. Strengthening partnerships among education, housing, tribal, and social service agencies and improving data-sharing, staff training, and referral systems can enhance service delivery. Collaboration with tribal governments and Native American– and Alaska Native–serving organizations is especially important to ensure culturally responsive supports and improve identification in rural and tribal communities.

Improve local and state data collection to better understand and serve students experiencing homelessness.
Arizona’s current data systems provide limited information on school stability, mobility, discipline, and other indicators that influence educational outcomes for students experiencing homelessness. Expanding longitudinal data systems to better connect homelessness with attendance, mobility, discipline, and academic outcomes would support earlier identification and more targeted interventions. More comprehensive data can also help state education agencies and local education agencies allocate resources more effectively and equitably.

Expand McKinney-Vento capacity and align housing services to better reach doubled-up families.
Because many Arizona families experiencing housing instability are doubled up and thus do not qualify under Housing and Urban Development’s definition of homelessness, schools often serve as the primary point of identification and support. Expanding McKinney-Vento funding, staffing, and training can strengthen identification and services for these students. Better alignment between education and housing systems, including more flexible housing eligibility and stronger referral pathways, can help close gaps in support for families experiencing housing instability.

Strengthen transportation and targeted supports to improve educational stability and academic success.
Students experiencing homelessness face significant barriers to attendance and academic success, with transportation challenges contributing to school instability and chronic absenteeism. Additional investments in transportation, tutoring, credit recovery, mental health services, case management, and evidence-based attendance interventions can help students remain engaged and succeed in school. Coordinating these educational supports with housing and social services is essential to promoting long-term educational stability and achievement.

Geneva Sum
Communications Director, UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools
UCLA School of Education and Information Studies
424-259-5836
gsum@gseis.ucla.edu

John McDonald
Director, Sudikoff Institute
UCLA School of Education and Information Studies
310-880-5332
jmcdonald@gseis.ucla.edu

This study was produced through CTS’s partnership with the American Institutes for Research as part of the West Comprehensive Center, a federally funded project providing state, district and school leaders support to implement and sustain evidence-based programs and practices, with the goal of improving outcomes for educators and students.