McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance

The Board recognizes its obligation to ensure that homeless students have equal access to the same free appropriate public educational programs and services provided to other district students. The Board shall make reasonable efforts to promptly identify homeless children within the district, encourage their enrollment, and eliminate any district policies, procedures, or administrative regulations that may act as barriers to their attendance and education, in compliance with federal and state law and regulations.

The Board may waive policies, procedures and administrative regulations that create barriers for enrollment, attendance, transportation and success in school of homeless students, based on the recommendation of the Superintendent.

The Board prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of homelessness, in accordance with applicable law.

Homeless students are defined as individuals lacking a fixed, regular and nighttime residence, which includes:

  1. Children and youth who are:
     
    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 lack of alternative adequate accommodations.
    3. Living in emergency, transitional or domestic violence shelters.
    4. Living or abandoned in hospitals.
       
  2. Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, regular sleeping accommodations for human beings.
     
  3. Children and youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, transportation stations or similar settings.
     
  4. Migratory children living in conditions described in previous examples.

School of origin is defined as the school the student attended when permanently housed or the school in which the student was last enrolled, including preschool. When the student completes the final grade level served by the school of origin, the school of origin shall include the designated receiving school at the next grade level of all feeder schools.

Unaccompanied youth refers to a homeless child or youth who is not in physical custody of a parent/guardian.