Homelessness is a significant and growing problem among Idaho schoolchildren, according to a report from the Idaho Asset Building Network. The network determined, based on state Department of Education figures, that 2.6 percent of Idaho’s public school students qualified as homeless last year, compared to 1.6 percent in 2010 — a number that’s risen 62.5 percent over seven years.

“Rents have risen out of proportion with wages over many years, causing more and more families and students to double up with other families, live in motels and hotels, or live unsheltered,” said Alejandra Cerna Rios, policy analyst at the Idaho Asset Building Network. “Critical investments that help every family live in safe, affordable homes are on the way, but more must be done to curb the rise in schoolchildren experiencing homelessness.”

Both rural and urban Idaho school districts are wrestling with the issue, the group found, with three rural districts — in Clark County, Craigmont and Lapwai — reporting homelessness rates among their students of 15 percent or more.

Kris Rodine, spokeswoman for the Idaho Department of Education, said the figures are accurate but noted that more than two-thirds of the increase happened from 2010-11 to 2011-12, when the number of homeless Idaho students rose 47 percent. In the past three years, she noted, “the numbers have stabilized somewhat.”

Both current state schools Superintendent Sherri Ybarra and her Democratic challenger, longtime teacher Cindy Wilson, expressed concern.

“Homelessness is a major concern for school districts throughout the state,” Ybarra said.

Students who qualify as homeless are eligible for assistance under federal law.

“Liaisons in every district work hard to identify and help those students, and the State Department of Education works hard to support those efforts,” Ybarra said. “The aim is to ensure full participation in public school education for every student, whether or not their home life is in transition. Schools are places where they find love, support, stability and food. Homelessness should not make them stand out from their peers.”

Wilson said, “Over the past few years I’ve noticed an increase in homeless students in my classroom. This is another example of a stressor in the lives of young people, which is something I’ve been talking about and hearing about all over the state. Many students today suffer from loneliness, depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts brought on by trauma such as homelessness.”

“Our public schools can be a safe haven with support available to help students,” Wilson said. “Idaho must invest in our most important resource: Our children.”

In the 2017-18 school year, 7,820 Idaho school students lacked a “fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence,” compared to 4,758 in 2010-2011.

The Idaho Asset Building Network is a project of Jannus, formerly Mountain States Group.

Karen Bilowith, CEO of the Idaho Community Foundation, said the numbers the group highlighted match what her organization has been hearing at community engagement meetings it’s been conducting around the state.

“We heard repeatedly from school districts that stable housing is crucially important to the success of students in school,” Bilowith said. “But housing is becoming increasingly out of reach for working families. Affordable housing needs to be a priority.”

Services provided to homeless students in Idaho schools range from transportation, school supplies and meals to clothing and referrals to other resources. The programs are focused on eliminating any barriers students have to fully access educational services. People don’t need a permanent home address to enroll their child in school in Idaho.

The figures for individual school districts vary in the report. The Boise School District had 764 students identified as homeless in 2017-18, actually fewer than the 799 it had in 2010-2011, but the number rose to a high of 919 in 2014-15. Nampa schools saw a similar trend, while Caldwell’s figures more than doubled over the seven years.

The numbers also include a one-time event, when the number of homeless students in the Horseshoe Bend School District jumped from seven to 439 in a single year, 2015-16, and then went back down to seven the following year. That was because of a large number of families displaced by a wildfire.

Josh Scholer, a policy specialist with the Idaho Asset Building Network, said even with that anomaly removed, Idaho’s homeless student population still is up 64 percent compared to 2010.