An empty classroom at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé in Juneau, Alaska, on July 20, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Phu/Alaska Beacon)
An empty classroom at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé in Juneau, Alaska, on July 20, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Phu/Alaska Beacon)

There are more than 3,000 students known to be experiencing homelessness in Alaska, and the number has grown over the last five years. It is also likely to be a 50-100% undercount, according to advocacy group SchoolHouse Connection.

In an Alaska Senate Education Committee meeting on Jan. 29, Barbara Duffield, SchoolHouse Connection’s executive director,…