Education and Workforce Outcomes for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness, 2021

In 2020, the Washington State Legislature directed the Education Research and Data Center (ERDC) to provide annual reports on the educational outcomes of students in foster care and students who had experienced homelessness, compared to their general peers. The budget bill identified several indicators to be reported, including kindergarten readiness, early grade reading and math, ninth-grade students on track to graduate, high school completion, postsecondary enrollment, postsecondary completion, school attendance, school mobility, special education status, and school discipline. To observe racial/ethnic disparities, the Legislature further requested analyzing these indicators by race/ethnicity. Additionally, the Project Education Impact (PEI) workgroup recommended examining the workforce outcomes for students as they transitioned into adulthood. This report specifically presents the findings for children and youth who experienced homelessness.