Chalkbeat | Last school year, 63% of the roughly 65,000 students who lived in homeless shelters were marked chronically absent — meaning they missed at least 1 in 10 school days. That’s more than double the rate of students with permanent housing, according to newly released data from Advocates for Children.

Many students in shelters routinely face long commutes, transportation delays, and frequent moves during the school year, pushing them further behind academically, families and advocates say.

In response, some advocates are pushing both the state and city governments to step up funding and coordination of services for homeless students.