Homeless: What Districts Need to Do

Homeless Students: What Districts Need to Do CESA 10 Guide

This guide summarizes the information available on the DPI website, http://dpi.wi.gov/homeless/index.html. The website provides comprehensive information identifying legal responsibilities and best practices for serving homeless children. It also provides practical resource information. This guide is intended as a resource to assist small districts with limited experience answer the question, “What Do We Do Now?” when homeless students enroll. It will also assist in finding necessary information on the DPI website.

This guide is available on the CESA 10 website (under Instructional Services) with electronic references and a sample district newsletter article as well as a sample homeless referral form.

Legal Responsibilities: Districts MUST Serve Homeless Students

Who is considered homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act?

Homeless children and youth are defined as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence. The term includes children and youth who are:

•sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reasons; •living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds; •living in emergency or transitional shelters •abandoned in hospitals; •awaiting foster-care placement; •living in a primary night-time residence not used as a regular sleeping accommodation; •living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and/or •migratory children living in any of the circumstances described above.

For more information go to http://dpi.wi.gov/homeless/faq.html or review the FAQ document (Appendix A) and Bulletin 01 (Appendix B) and Bulletin 02 (Appendix C) at the end of this guide.

Frontline staff, including secretaries who assist families in enrolling students, should make an immediate referral to the district’s Homeless Liaison to ensure that families and students understand their educational rights and that appropriate services are immediately provided. Forms that should be completed include:

o Local Use Form Homeless Student Identification, PI-Q03-8, (Appendix D)

CESA 10 Instructional Services/ESEA 1 Fall, 2007 o Community Information Directory (Appendix E) o Authorization for Release or Exchange of Information (Appendix F)

For electronic access to forms go to http://dpi.wi.gov/homeless/forms.html.

District Responsibilities

1. Identify a Homeless Liaison who will:

o provide his/her contact information to district and community staff through a staff meeting, phone call, email, and/or district newsletter. See sample newsletter article (Appendix G) o list the name of the homeless liaison on the district website o define homeless families and unaccompanied youth for district and community staff o display an educational rights poster in each school building "Educational Rights of Homeless Children and Youth." For posters call the National Center for Homeless Education, NCHE, at 1-800- 308-2145 and ask for up to 25 posters in English and Spanish. They will also send you free parent packs--folders that parents can keep their children's school records in. o Share district procedures for enrolling and educating homeless students (Appendix H) o Identify a procedure for staff to refer homeless families to the liaison (Appendix I) o Complete PI-Q03-8- Local Use Form Homeless Student Identification for each homeless student (Appendix D) o Ensure that homeless preschool children are identified

2. Provide inservice training for all district staff involved with enrollment that includes:

o developing an understanding of the definition of homeless o informing families of the educational rights of homeless o maintaining confidentiality o identifying the procedure to refer homeless families to the liaison

3. Inform homeless families and youth about their educational rights including the right to :

o continue to go to the school they were attending prior to becoming homeless, if that is their preference and it is feasible o receive transportation to go to the school they were attending prior to becoming homeless, if requested

CESA 10 Instructional Services/ESEA 2 Fall, 2007 o enroll in and attend school without having a permanent address or available medical or educational records o enroll preschool children in district preschool programs o receive the same access to programs and services as all other children, including transportation o receive information from the school for help in getting food, clothing, and school supplies o receive free lunch, books and supplies, Title I services, course fees

4. Provide homeless families and youth with a list of community agencies that provide services related to :

o Clothing o Food o Transportation o Housing support o Employment o Counseling o Health Services

5. Review district policies and procedures including:

o DPI guidance on pupil records at http://dpi.wi.gov/homeless/forms.html or Appendix J. o Complaint procedures o Policies and procedures to ensure the removal of academic barriers -lack of transportation -inability to pay for books, school supplies, eye glasses, program apparel, etc. -policies requiring district residency

The following are some of the policy/rule topics that the district may consider reviewing: -School admissions -Procedures for placement of transfer students -Title I programs and student identification -Special education programs and student services -Gifted and talented programs and student identification -Student transportation -School nutrition programs -Student fees, fines, and charges

CESA 10 Instructional Services/ESEA 3 Fall, 2007

CESA 10 Instructional Services/ESEA 4 Fall, 2007