Executive Summary

The No Child Left Behind Act, which reauthorizes the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act's Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY), gives high priority to minimizing the achievement gap between highly mobile students and their nonmobile peers. Inherent to the success of the McKinney-Vento Act is understanding student mobility as a contributor to this gap, its impact on academic success and the school district, and exploring ways to reduce mobility and/or lessen its negative effects.

High student mobility occurs as frequently in rural districts as it does in urban districts, but little research exists about the specific issue of rural student mobility. By drawing correlations between characteristics of rural communities and the factors that contribute to high student mobility, it is easy to determine that rural administrators, as well as state and local education agencies, must address this issue.

This paper provides readers with a thorough understanding of student mobility—a research review that demonstrates the prevalence of mobility and its effect on students and schools, and highlights federal, state, and local initiatives that have been adopted. Also provided are suggestions, strategies, and additional resources that can be used by virtually any district in its efforts to comply with the McKinney-Vento Act.