News Summary
Atlanta is facing a significant housing crisis that is severely affecting families’ access to education, leading to high student absenteeism rates. In 2023, Atlanta Public Schools reported a chronic absenteeism rate of 35%, impacting over 19,000 students. Families like Jasmine Burse’s have suffered from homelessness and unstable living conditions, exacerbating educational challenges for their children. With the affordable housing situation worsening, policymakers are focusing on solutions to improve stability for families and reduce absenteeism in schools.
Atlanta is grappling with a housing crisis that is significantly affecting families’ access to education, leading to alarming rates of student absenteeism. In 2023, Atlanta Public Schools (APS) reported a chronic absenteeism rate of 35%, the highest in the metro area. This situation is compounded by the affordability crisis in housing, which has forced many families into unstable living conditions.
Families like that of Jasmine Burse, a mother of four who moved to Atlanta three years ago, illustrate the struggles faced by many. Burse’s family has experienced homelessness, frequently moving from motel to motel in an effort to find affordable accommodations. Living situations often left her with inadequate sleeping arrangements, as she had to choose between sharing a single bed with her children or renting two separate rooms, which her income from driving for Lyft couldn’t support. Burse reported that significant financial stress led to emotional strain, describing her experiences during this period as distressing.
The challenges Burse faced were not only emotional but also logistical. Her children, enrolled in APS, struggled to maintain consistent school attendance. During their first school year, they managed to attend school regularly for only about three months. State data shows that more than 19,888 APS students missed over 15 class days in 2023, exacerbating the challenges of chronic absenteeism, which is defined as missing at least 10% of the school year.
Education experts are pointing to the affordable housing crisis as a key contributor to these high absenteeism rates. The Georgia Department of Education reported a disturbing trend, noting that many children from low-income and homeless families face worse academic and social outcomes than their peers. Nearly 1,900 APS students are currently recognized as in need of stable housing, and connected research emphasizes the impact of housing insecurity on children’s education and overall well-being.
As families like Burse’s continue to struggle, the educational impact has become more pronounced. Children who experience instability at home often fall behind academically, resulting in Burse’s eldest children losing their spots on the honor roll and younger siblings facing challenges in reading proficiency. Furthermore, the inability to be present and engaged in their children’s education due to the necessity of meeting basic needs has taken a direct toll on academic performance.
In response to this growing crisis, Fulton County Schools has implemented measures aimed at reducing absenteeism, such as individualized student plans that include wrap-around services like housing resources and tutoring. This initiative has led to a significant reduction in the district’s absenteeism rate, which dropped from 37.9% in 2021 to 22% in 2023.
Connections to resources have proven beneficial in improving attendance rates for families. For instance, Burse’s children saw an increase in school attendance after becoming involved with a nonprofit organization that helps families secure stable housing. Experts in housing advocacy highlight that secure housing is essential and should be treated as a basic human need equivalent to food and security.
Georgia law allows schools to report families for truancy after five or more unexcused absences, which could lead to legal consequences. However, schools within the metro Atlanta area have generally reserved such measures for extreme situations where families may be facing significant hardship, ensuring that intervention does not exacerbate the family’s struggles during tough times.
The Atlanta housing crisis has intensified in recent years, with a loss of over 200,000 affordable housing units from 2018 to 2023, and the Atlanta Regional Commission reporting the loss of an additional 232,349 affordable rental units renting for $1,500 or less. As a result, over half of renters in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta area are considered cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. The projected influx of 1.8 million new residents by 2050 further complicates the housing landscape, as the area contends with a shortfall of over 100,000 homes, ranking it among the top 10 in the nation for housing deficits.
Policy discussions are focusing on the need for stronger tenant protections and initiatives to promote affordable rent, as a means to combat the ongoing issues of eviction and housing insecurity. Housing advocacy groups propose regulating development processes to expedite the creation of housing units as a potential solution to address these significant challenges.
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Additional Resources
- The Nation: The Housing Crisis and Working Homeless
- AJC: Atlanta’s Affordable Housing Crisis
- Appen Media: ADUs and the Housing Crisis in Metro Atlanta
- Fox 5 Atlanta: Challenges in Affordable Housing
- AJC: Atlanta Renters Face Housing Shortage
