By: Danny Jacobs

Baltimore County Public Schools opened two weeks ago, and for the first time in two years it will not have to provide monitoring reports on its homeless students based on a federal lawsuit settlement two years ago. That’s because the Public Justice Center, which brought the lawsuit, found the school system has significantly improved its treatment of homeless students.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of three homeless families alleged BCPS “failed or refused… to identify, inform and provide educational stability and continuity to these homeless students” as required under a 1987 federal law. A consent decree reached as part of the settlement required monitoring reports and training of personnel.

BCPS identified more than 1,700 homeless students last school year, nearly double the number identified in 2006. Locating the homeless students “enables them to remain in their own schools with transportation to and from their temporary residence or shelter or guarantee immediate enrollment in a new school even when required documentation is not immediately available,” according to the PJC.

Teachers also went to homeless shelters across the county to help students, an effort that has shown dividends in Maryland School Assessment scores, with homeless students’ scores last year improving even more than that of the general population.

“BCPS has implemented a system that works, and the test results reflect that success,” said Debra Gardner, the PJC’s legal director, in a statement.