The homeless advocacy organization Partnership for the Homeless filed suit against the New York City Department of Education yesterday. The lawsuit alleges the Department of Education has failed to turn over information requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Partnership for the Homeless claims the DOE has not disclosed information on what schools homeless children attend, how the students get to class, and what shelter intake centers the Department of Education has a presence in.
Court papers indicate that the Department of Education has refused to release information for fear of breaking federal privacy laws which are in place to protect the homeless. Records previously released by the DOE show the population of homeless students rose over 65% from 2010 to 2016. Currently, NYC has an estimated 111,000 students that are homeless or are living in temporary housing.
According to an article published in the New York Daily News, the de Blasio administration promised to set aside $11.9 million from the latest city budget to address the special set of challenges homeless students regularly face.
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