Homeless Students: Enrollment Rights And Services
To the extent practical and as required by law, the District will work with homeless students and their families to provide stability in school attendance and other services. Special attention will be given to ensuring the enrollment and attendance of homeless students not currently attending school. Homeless students will be provided District services for which they are eligible, including Head Start and comparable pre-school programs, Title I, similar state programs, special education, bilingual education, vocational and technical education programs, and school nutrition programs. The superintendent has designated an appropriate staff person to be the District's liaison for homeless students and their families.
Designated Homeless Liaison: Joan Endicott
Homeless Education Policy
Homeless students are defined as lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, including: 1. Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing or economic hardship;
2. Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
3. Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
4. Being abandoned in hospitals;
5. Awaiting foster care placement;
6. Living in public or private places not designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations for human beings;
7. Living in cards, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, transportation stations or similar settings;
8. Migratory children living in conditions described in the previous examples.
The district and local liaison ensure that: 1. Homeless children and youth are identified by school personnel and through coordination activities with other entities and agencies;
2. Homeless students enroll in, and have full and equal opportunity to succeed in, the schools of Manchester Essex Regional School District;
3. Homeless children and youth and their families receive educational services for which they are eligible, including Head Start, Even Start, and pre-school programs administered by Manchester Essex, and referrals to health, mental health, dental, and other appropriate services;
4. Parents or guardians of homeless children and youth are informed of educational and related opportunities available to their children, and are provided with meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children;
5. Parents and guardians and unaccompanied youth are fully informed of all transportation services, including transportation to and from the school of origin, and are assisted in accessing transportation services;
6. Enrollment disputes are mediated in accordance with the requirements of the McKinney-Vento Act; and
7. Public notice of the educational rights of homeless students is disseminated to locations where they receive services under the McKinney-Vento Act.
Homeless children and youth are assisted with such activities as the following: 1. Enrolling in school and accessing school services;
2. Obtaining immunizations or medical records;
3. Informing parents, school personnel, and others of the rights of homeless children and youth;
4. Working with school staff to make sure that homeless children and youth are immediately enrolled in school pending resolution of disputes that might arise over school enrollment or placement;
5. Helping to coordinate transportation services for homeless children and youth; and
6. Collaborating and coordinating with State Coordinators for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth and community and school personnel responsible for providing education and related support services to homeless children and youth. |
