Studies have shown that homeless students can be set back by as much as eight months each time they change schools, said Victor Geminiani, executive director of Lawyers for Equal Justice.

The state will assist families to ensure they attend school.

The state has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit filed last year that alleged homeless children around the state are being denied equal access to public education.

A federal judge has given the state Department of Education until April 30 to revise its enrollment forms and computer registration programs to improve how it identifies, tracks and transports homeless students as required under federal law.

Lawyers for Equal Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaiʻi yesterday went to court seeking an order that would immediately stop the state from enforcing laws and policies they claim make it hard for transient students to find stability in their schooling.

A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of hundreds of homeless K-12 students to ensure they have the right to continue attending the school they were in before their families lost their homes.

Lawyers for Equal Justice & the ACLU of Hawaiʻi have filed a lawsuit on behalf of hundreds of homeless K-12 students to ensure their continued access to education, as protected by federal law.

The state has failed so badly at helping homeless children get to and from public schools that federal courts should intervene in the situation, according to a class-action lawsuit filed by the ACLU and two other parties.