Bullitt County schools confront rising number of homeless students

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Bullitt County Public Schools is working to address a growing problem: homelessness among students.

District leaders say the number of homeless students has risen nearly 20% over the last year. In 2024, 464 children in the district were identified as homeless. Over the past three years, that number has increased by 33%, and this school year has seen a 19% increase from last November.

“Our students and families that are living in homelessness, they are hidden in plain sight oftentimes,” said Tiffany Reynolds, a McKinney-Vento district liaison for BCPS.

The McKinney-Vento Act is a federal law requiring school districts to provide educational rights and resources to homeless students. Reynolds said her role is to help remove barriers to academic success.

“What we do is just anything and everything to remove barriers from academic success for those students that are experiencing homelessness,” she said.

Reynolds noted that Bullitt County is the largest county in Kentucky without a homeless shelter, making it difficult for families to remain in the area once they lose housing.

“We are the largest county in Kentucky without a homeless shelter so it’s very difficult once somebody loses housing to be able to stay in Bullitt County. Our goal is to keep our students here,” Reynolds said.

She added that homelessness affects students across the district.

“It’s not just Shepherdsville or Hillview kiddos, it’s across our whole county,” she said.

For the past two years, district leaders have raised awareness by spending the night outside the board of education building.

“It’s eye opening to see, okay, after staying out what that mental, physical and emotion toll is on you and then you’re trying to work the next day and this is something they do day in and day out,” Reynolds said.

She said the district averages about 400 homeless students each year, and the circumstances vary widely. About 150 each year are unaccompanied. This is usually when teenagers are kicked out of a home or ran away. This also encompasses children who is in the middle of custody battles or their parents just left them.

"It’s just changing the mindset of folks that it’s not these scary people that are drug addicted living under a bridge, it’s children that are trying to get their education and just be kids,” Reynolds said.

"Even though you have somebody that’s homeless, it doesn’t mean that they’re lazy, it doesn’t mean that they’re not working because oftentimes these are working families just trying to make it." she explained. "It doesn’t mean they’ve been to jail or are on drugs, these are families that love their children and they just want the best for them."

The district is accepting donations at the Bullitt County Public Schools Board of Education for the rest of November. The public can donate food, winter clothes or if you want to donate money you can as well. If you'd like to contribute, click here.

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