ICHABOD CRANE 5151
HOMELESS CHILDREN
The Board of Education recognizes its responsibility under federal (McKinney-Vento) and state laws and regulations to identify homeless children within the district, encourage their enrollment and eliminate existing barriers to their identification, enrollment, attendance, or success in school which may exist in district practices. The Board will provide homeless children attending the district’s schools with access to the same free and appropriate public education and other school programs and activities, including publicly funded preschool education, as other children.
A homeless child is a child who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence or who has a primary nighttime location in a public or private shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations, or a place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings. This definition also includes a child who shares the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason; lives in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; lives in a car, park, public space or abandoned building, substandard housing, bus or train station or similar setting; has been abandoned in a hospital; or is a migratory child who qualifies as homeless. An unaccompanied youth is a homeless child not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.
To assist in determine eligibility for services under the McKinney-Vento Act, the district will use a housing questionnaire for all enrolling students, and those reporting a change of address, which asks for a description of the student’s current living arrangements.
A homeless child or youth has the right to attend their district of origin, or any school that permanently housed students who live in the attendance area in which the homeless student is actually living are eligible to attend. For homeless students, a district of origin can be:
1. the public school district they attended when permanently housed (i.e., before becoming homeless); or
2. the public school district where they were last enrolled, or
3. the public school district they were entitled or eligible to enroll in when the child became homeless, if that child became homeless after such child was eligible to apply, register, or enroll in a public preschool or kindergarten, or is living with a school-age sibling who attends school in the district; or
4. the designated receiving school at the next grade level for any feeder school, where the child has completed the final grade in the feeder school.
Such schools include publicly-funded preschools administered by the district or the State Education Department (SED).
The homeless child is entitled to attend the designated school on a tuition-free basis for the duration of homelessness. If the child becomes permanently housed, the child is entitled to continue attendance in the same school building until the end of the school year and for one additional year if that year constitutes the child’s terminal year in such building. If a homeless
child completes the final grade level in the school of origin, the child may also attend the designated receiving school at the next grade level for all feeder schools.
The Superintendent of Schools is directed to develop procedures necessary to expedite the homeless child’s access to the designated school. Such procedures must include:
1. Admission and Participation: Upon designation, the district will immediately admit the homeless child to school, even if the child is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment, such as previous academic records, medical or immunization records (however, the district may temporarily exclude a child from attendance if there are actual symptoms of a communicable disease that poses a significant risk of transmission to others), proof of age or residency or other documentation and even if there is a dispute with the child’s parents regarding school selection or enrollment. During a dispute, the student may continue attending the school until final resolution of the dispute, including all available appeals. Homeless children will have the same opportunity as other children to enroll in and succeed in the district’s schools, including extracurricular activities and summer school programs available to district students. They will not be placed in separate schools or programs based on their status as homeless. The district will eliminate barriers to identification, enrollment and retention of homeless children, including barriers to enrollment and retention due to outstanding fees, fines or absences.
2. Transportation: The district will promptly provide transportation for homeless students currently attending district schools as required by applicable law, as described in the accompanying regulation. In general, the district will ensure that transportation is provided to homeless students enrolled in the district who attend a district of origin, including a publicly funded preschool administered by the district or SED, even if the student lives outside the district’s boundaries. Transportation will be provided for the duration of homelessness, through the remainder of the school year in which the student becomes permanently housed, and one additional year if that is the student’s final year in the school.
3. School Records: For homeless students attending school out of the district, the district will, within five days of receipt of a request for records, forward a complete copy of the homeless child’s records including proof of age, academic records, evaluation, immunization records and guardianship paper, if applicable. For homeless students attending school in the district, the district will request the student’s records (academic, medical, etc.) from the school the student last attended.
4. Coordination: The district will coordinate with local social services agencies and other entities providing services to homeless children and their families for the provision of services to homeless children, and will coordinate with other school districts on issues of prompt identification, transportation, transfer of records, and other inter-district
activities. This will include ensuring the provision of appropriate services to homeless students with disabilities who are eligible for services under either Section 504 or IDEA.
A portion of the district’s Title I, Part A funds will be set aside for homeless children and youth to provide educationally related support services and services not ordinarily provided to other students.
Information about a homeless child’s living situation will be treated as a student education record, and will not be considered directory information under FERPA. See policy 5500, Student Records, for more information.
The Superintendent will also designate a McKinney-Vento liaison for homeless children and ensure that this person is aware of, and able to carry out, their responsibilities under the law. The Superintendent will ensure that the liaison receives appropriate professional development on identifying and meeting the needs of homeless students, including the definitions of terms related to homelessness. The liaison’s responsibilities will include, but not be limited to, ensuring that:
1. parents or guardians of homeless children are informed of the educational and related opportunities available to their children, and are provided with meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children;
2. parents and guardians and unaccompanied youth are fully informed of all transportation services available to them, and are assisted in accessing them; 3. enrollment disputes involving homeless children are promptly mediated and resolved;
4. school personnel, through outreach and in coordination with shelters and social service agencies and other appropriate entities, identify homeless children, including homeless preschoolers;
5. homeless children receive educational services, including but not limited to Head Start and preschool services to which they are eligible, as well as referrals to health care and other appropriate services for homeless children and their families;
6. public notice of the educational rights of homeless children is disseminated in locations frequented by homeless unaccompanied youth and parents/guardians of homeless children, in a manner and form understandable to them;
7. staff who provide services to homeless students receive required professional development and support on identifying and meeting the needs of homeless students; 8. homeless unaccompanied youth are informed of their rights, are enrolled in school, and have opportunities to meet the same state standards set for all students, including receiving credit for full or partial coursework earned in a prior school pursuant to Commissioner’s regulations.
In accordance with law and regulation, the district will offer a prompt dispute resolution process (described in more detail in the accompanying administrative regulation). A student will be entitled to continued enrollment in the district’s schools, and transportation, pending resolution of the dispute and all available appeals.
In accordance with Commissioner’s regulations, the district will collect and transmit to the Commissioner information necessary to assess the educational needs of homeless children within the State.
Cross-ref:
5150, School Admissions
5420, Student Health Services
5500, Student Records
Ref:
20 USC § 6313(c)
42 USC §§11431 et seq.
McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program, 81 Fed. Reg. 14432- 14436 (3/17/16)
U.S. Department of Education, Education for Homeless Children and Youths Program, Non Regulatory Guidance (7/27/16),
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/essa/160240ehcyguidance072716.pdf Education Law §§207; 305; 3202; 3205; 3209
Executive Law §§532-b; 532-e
Social Services Law §§17; 62; 397
8 NYCRR §§100.2(x); 175.6
Effective Date: November 3, 2020
ICHABOD CRANE 5151-R HOMELESS CHILDREN REGULATION
Each school in the district will maintain forms provided by the Commissioner of Education for designating a homeless child’s district of attendance. These forms must be immediately provided to any homeless child or parent or guardian who seeks to enroll a child in school. The district’s McKinney-Vento liaison for homeless students will assist the homeless child and/or parent or guardian in understanding their rights under the law and provide them with information regarding the educational and related opportunities available to them.
School placement decisions for homeless children will be based on the “best interest of the child” and will:
1. presume that keeping the child in the school of origin is in the child’s best interest, except when doing so is contrary to the wishes of the parent or guardian or unaccompanied youth; and
2. consider student-centered factors such as the effect of mobility on student achievement, education, health and safety of the child, giving priority to the wishes of the child’s parent or guardian or unaccompanied youth.
If the district determines that it is in the best interests of the student to attend a school other than the school of origin or a school requested by the parent or guardian, the Superintendent or designee will provide the parent or guardian or unaccompanied youth with a written explanation of its decision, together with a statement regarding the right to appeal the placement, which will be in a manner and form understandable to them. The Superintendent or designee will refer any such dispute to the district’s McKinney-Vento liaison for resolution. The student must be enrolled in the school sought by the parent or guardian or unaccompanied youth and provided with requested transportation pending final resolution of the dispute, including all available appeals.
Admission Procedures
Upon identifying a student experiencing homelessness, the Superintendent of Schools or designee will immediately:
1. ensure that a designation form is given to the parent or guardian or unaccompanied youth and review the designation form to ensure that it is complete; 2. admit the homeless child even if the child or parent or guardian is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment, or the student has missed application or enrollment deadlines, or there is an unresolved dispute regarding eligibility, school selection or enrollment;
3. where applicable, make a written request to the school district where a copy of the child’s records are located for a copy of the homeless child’s school records; 4. notify the McKinney-Vento liaison of the child’s admission. The liaison must:
a. notify the child and/or the parent or guardian of the educational and related opportunities available to homeless children including transportation to the school of
origin, and help arrange for transportation and other services such as those under Title I, Section 504, IDEA, and federal school meals;
b. ensure that the child receives the educational services for which they are eligible, including Head Start and Early Head Start, early intervention services, and preschool programs administered by the district;
c. make necessary referrals for the homeless children or their families to health care services, dental services, mental health services, substance abuse services, housing services, and other appropriate services;
d. ensure that any enrollment disputes are mediated promptly and in accordance with law;
e. when assisting unaccompanied youth in placement or enrollment decisions, give priority to the views of such youth, and inform them of their status as “independent students” for purposes of applying for federal financial aid for college and assist with that process; and
f. assist in obtaining required immunizations, health screenings, immunization records or health records.
The Superintendent or designee will forward a copy of the designation form to the Commissioner of Education and the school district of origin where applicable.
Unaccompanied Youth and Parent/Guardian Signatures
To the extent that district policies and practices require parent/guardian permission or consent, the district will remove barriers to admission and participation for unaccompanied youth due to lack of parent/guardian signatures. This includes, but is not limited to, enrollment, providing medical care and excuses for absences, participating in field trips and extracurricular activities, and accessing or releasing records. Where parent/guardian consent, permission or signatures cannot be obtained for unaccompanied youth, the district will accept signatures from the following in order of preference:
1. Persons designated by the parent/guardian as a “person in parental relation” under state General Obligations Law Title 15-A;
2. Authorized caregivers age 18 or older so identified by the unaccompanied youth;
3. The McKinney-Vento liaison; or
4. The unaccompanied youths themselves (if none of the other signatures listed above can be obtained)
Parental rights under FERPA pertaining to student records extend to a person acting as a parent in the absence of a parent/guardian. The district grants unaccompanied youth under age 18 the rights under FERPA for eligible students and parents/guardians.
Transportation
Unless the homeless child is receiving transportation provided by the Department of Social Services, the district will provide transportation services to the child in accordance with applicable law. Where the district is designated by the parent/guardian or unaccompanied youth,
and the student attends the school of origin as defined in law described in the accompanying policy (including a publicly funded preschool administered by the district or the State Education Department), the district will provide transportation, even if transportation is not generally provided to permanently housed students and the student is residing outside the district’s boundaries. A designated school district that must provide transportation to a homeless child is not required to provide transportation in excess of 50 miles one way, unless the Commissioner of Education determines that it is in the best interest of the child.
Transportation must be provided to the school of origin when the district receives notice of a child’s homeless status, for the duration of the student’s homelessness, as well as during the pendency of any disputes. Transportation must be provided to the receiving school as defined in Education Law §3209(1)(h) if the student is homeless over multiple school years. If a child becomes permanently housed during the school year, the student has the right to transportation services to the school of origin until the end of the academic year, as well as one additional year if it is the student’s final grade level or terminal year in the building.
If the district recommends that a homeless child attend a summer educational program, and lack of transportation is a barrier to participation, the district will provide transportation. The district will provide transportation to extracurricular or school activities for homeless students eligible for such activities where lack of transportation is a barrier to participation.
Dispute Resolution Process
If, after the Superintendent reviews the designation form, they find that the student is either not homeless, not entitled to attend the district’s school, or not entitled to transportation (if requested) the Superintendent or designee will do the following:
1. Contact the district’s McKinney-Vento liaison to assist in dispute resolution process.
2. Contact the student and parent (if available) and inform them of their opportunity to provide more information prior to the district making a final determination.
If, after consideration of any additional information and input from the McKinney-Vento liaison, the Superintendent makes a final determination that a student is not homeless, or not entitled to enrollment or transportation, they must provide the student’s parent or guardian, or the student, if the student is an unaccompanied youth, with written notice that the student is not entitled to their request. This written notice must also:
1. state the rationale/basis for the district’s determination;
2. state the date as of which the student will be excluded from the district’s schools (or transportation), which must be at least 30 days from receipt of the written notice;
3. advise that the district’s final determination may be appealed to the Commissioner of Education (Commissioner);
4. provide the name and contact information for the district’s McKinney-Vento liaison;
5. inform the student’s parent or guardian or the student, if the student is an unaccompanied youth, that the district’s McKinney-Vento liaison is required to assist in filing such an appeal; and
6. include, as an attachment, the form needed to file an appeal to the Commissioner.
The Superintendent must ensure that the district’s final decision is delivered to the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth in a timely manner. The student must remain enrolled and provided with transportation (if requested) until the district provides written notice of its final determination and for a minimum of 30 days after receipt of the determination to give the student’s parent or guardian or unaccompanied youth the opportunity to appeal to the Commissioner.
If the parent/guardian or student commences an appeal to the Commissioner within 30 days of the final determination, the homeless child or youth will be permitted to continue to attend the school s/he is enrolled in at the time of the appeal and/or receive transportation to that school until the Commissioner renders a decision.
Effective Date: November 3, 2020