Number of U.S. homeless students at record level: report -- By Nathan Porter, The Washington Times

The country's recent economic woes are still being felt in the classroom: The number of homeless American elementary and high school students has hit an all-time high, according to a new federal study released Thursday.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, in the 2011-2012 school year some 1,168,354 children ranging from preschool to 12th grade were without a home. That represents an overall increase of 72 percent since 2007, just before the global economic downturn.

A total of 43 states reported increases in the number of homeless students from the previous year. Some of the states with the most dramatic increases were Maine (58 percent), North Carolina (53 percent) and Michigan (42 percent), followed by California, New York, Texas and Florida.

"These numbers are devastating, but sadly, entirely predictable," said Ruth White, executive director of the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare. "This report simply provides more evidence that the federal government has abandoned its commitment to fill yawning gaps in affordable housing options for low-income families. The consequences reach far beyond housing, beyond education, and into the job market."

Just last month the U.S. Census Bureau released a survey that found that 16.1 million children — one in five — lived in poverty last year.

Since childhood poverty is directly tied to that of the child's parents, the problem of student homelessness closely tracks the unemployment rate and the health of the national economy.

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