Homeless Children Miss School More Than 180,000 Youngsters Have No Preschool, Says Report

Despite tougher federal laws to make education available to homeless young children, more than 180,000 of them around the country have been unable to enroll in public preschool programs, a report released Thursday shows.

In what it calls the first comprehensive report measuring how many of the nation’s youngest homeless children, ages 3 through 5, are being educated, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty found that 10 years after federal legislation required states to provide public education to all homeless children, many states are failing to comply.

“Homeless children have not been a priority on any level,” said Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the law center.

“There has been inadequate implementation by the states and inadequate oversight by the federal government.”