The U.S. Has More Than 1.25 Million Homeless Students

This is a horrifying statistic. According to the Department of Education, there are 1,258,182 students (in elementary school, middle school, or high school) that were homeless during the 2012-13 school year -- and the situation seems to be getting worse over time. Back in the 2007-08 school year the number was 795,054. That's an increase of 58.25% in only five years.

We are obviously not solving this problem -- only letting it get worse. And there are a couple of other things to consider -- 200,950 of those homeless children have some kind of disability, and 75,940 are on their own (without a parent or guardian). Three states (California, New York, Texas) each have more than 100,000 homeless children. I realize those are our most populous states, but it is simply unacceptable for any state to have a six-digit number of homeless students (and in my opinion, four and five-digit numbers are also unacceptable).

I really think the Democrats would like to do something about this problem, but the only things the congressional Republicans want to spend federal money on are tax cuts for the rich and more money for the military-industrial complex. There are some social programs struggling to help, but the Republicans have drastically cut their funding -- just like they have with social programs across the board.

Among the things that could quickly be done are: increase funding for all social programs, create millions of new jobs, and make sure those new jobs pay a livable wage by raising the minimum wage to at least $10.10 and hour (and $15 an hour would be even better). Why is this an important problem (other than the fact that a decent nation doesn't allow its children to be homeless)? Here are some of the reasons:

Children experiencing homelessness are more likely to be diagnosed with learning disabilities.

Homeless students transfer schools more often, are more likely to miss school, and have lower standardized test scores.

Homelessness is the highest risk factor in determining if a student leaves school before graduation; homeless students are 87 percent more likely than their peers to leave school.

Forty to 60 percent of unaccompanied homeless youth were abused physically in their homes, and 20 to 40 percent were abused sexually.

This is not only shocking -- it is shameful. And remember, that 1.28 million number only counts homeless students. It does not count those homeless children who are not yet school age, or who have dropped out of school. The true number of homeless children in the United States is significantly higher.

Do other developed nations have this big a problem with homeless children. No, and when they find them they do something about it. You can call that socialism if you want, but I just think it's common decency. There is no reason why the United States can't significantly address this problem -- except for the fact that the Republicans just don't care, and they have enough power to obstruct any solution. This is just one more reason why this coming election is so important.