SchoolHouse Connection Releases Policy Brief on Policies to Support College Students Experiencing Homelessness 

SchoolHouse Connection, an Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) campaign Roundtable member, released a new policy brief, “Removing Barriers, Building Futures: Data-Informed Policies to Support College Students Experiencing Homelessness,” analyzing data from the Trellis Strategies Fall 2024 Student Financial Wellness Survey to understand the impact of homelessness on college students. The data demonstrate that college students who have experienced homelessness face greater hardships and barriers to continued enrollment than their peers. The brief outlines key findings on the current state of postsecondary student homelessness, along with institutional, state, and federal strategies to address housing insecurity among college students.  

The analysis reveals nine key findings:  

1. Student homelessness is often hidden—and therefore easy to miss. Most students experiencing homelessness are not in shelters, but temporarily stay with others, with 73% reporting to have moved in with others due to financial problems. 
2. Food insecurity is far more common among students experiencing homelessness. 72% of students experiencing homelessness had low or very low food security. 
3. Mental health burdens are higher; students experiencing homelessness were more likely to screen positive for major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. 
4. Work intensity is higher among students who experienced homelessness. 
5. Financial hardship is nearly universal among students experiencing homelessness, regardless of employment status. 
6. Transportation barriers translate to missed class time, with 27% of students experiencing homelessness missing classes sometimes, often, or always due to unreliable transportation. 
7. Work and childcare demands often disrupt education. Among working students, 71% said their job interfered with extracurricular or social involvement, and 39% said that they missed class due to work conflicts. 35% of parenting students experiencing homelessness missed class due to lack of childcare. 
8. Students experiencing homelessness are four times more likely to have foster care histories than their peers. 
9. Students experiencing homelessness report less institutional support despite greater need.  

The data demonstrate that broad “basic needs” or first-generation student initiatives alone may not adequately reach this population. To address these gaps, the brief outlines four overarching strategies, with policy interventions at the institutional, state, and federal levels. These include designating and training higher education homeless student liaisons, making emergency aid more accessible and responsive, expanding gap and year-round housing options, and strengthening supports for students transitioning from high school.   

The brief urges Congress to align higher education policy with housing stability goals by strengthening implementation of the “McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act” and extending clearer guidance and support for homeless student liaisons in post-secondary settings, building on existing FAFSA provisions that allow unaccompanied homeless youth to qualify as independent students for federal financial aid. The brief makes clear that without intentional identification, targeted supports, and stronger alignment between higher education and housing policy, students experiencing homelessness will continue to face preventable barriers to enrollment and degree completion that undermine their ability to build stable, self-sufficient futures.  

Read the brief here.  

Register for the SchoolHouse Connection webinar overview of the brief’s findings here.  

To learn more about the intersection of housing and education, read the OSAH fact sheet here.