Abstract
Homelessness in the United States has been a humanitarian crisis affecting youth as one of its most vulnerable populations. Education is one of the few opportunities to break through this cycle of poverty. Recognizing the gap in education for homeless students and other students, Congress enacted the McKinney-Vento Act, which guarantees homeless youth educational rights to access public education. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, however, the rise of criminalizing policies, such as encampment sweeps and anticamping ordinances, threatens the success of the Act. These policies not only destabilize families, but they also leave homeless youth disadvantaged because they obstruct educational access, displacing their futures.
This Note argues that criminalization measures directed at homelessness, such as encampment sweeps, undermine the educational rights of homeless youth under the McKinney-Vento Act. It examines current federal and state legislative frameworks governing homelessness against the rise of criminalizing policies post-Grants Pass. Then, it concludes that these policies create challenges for homeless students in violation of the Act. Finally, this Note proposes legal claims plaintiffs could bring under the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause and the McKinney-Vento Act in addition to a broader policy reform that would ensure state and local compliance with the Act. By shedding light on the barriers homeless youth face in accessing education and reframing education as an essential right, this Note emphasizes the urgent need for legal and fundamental interventions to preserve the futures of homeless youth.
Recommended Citation
Tina Pham, Education as a Right, Homelessness as a Crisis: The Displaced Futures of American Homeless Youth, 83 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 451 (2026).Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr/vol83/iss1/11
Included in
Education Law Commons, Juvenile Law Commons, Legislation Commons