Admission of Homeless Students Policy
ADMISSION OF HOMELESS STUDENTS POLICY JFABD
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, gifted and talented programs and school nutrition programs.
Definition
Homeless students are defined as (per No Child Left Behind definitions) lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, including:
- Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing or economic hardships
- Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations
- Living in emergency or transitional shelters
- Are abandoned in hospitals
- Awaiting foster care placement
- Living in public or private places not designed for, or ordinarily used as, regular sleeping accommodations for human beings
- Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, transportation stations or similar settings
- Are migratory children living in conditions described in previous examples
Procedures
The Superintendent shall designate an appropriate staff person to be the District’s Liaison for homeless students and their families.
To the extent feasible, homeless students will continue to be enrolled in their school of origin while they remain homeless or until the end of the academic year in which they obtain permanent housing. Instead of remaining in the school of origin, parents or guardians of homeless students may request enrollment in the school in which attendance area the student is actually living, or other schools.
If there is an enrollment dispute, the student shall be immediately enrolled in the school in which enrollment is sought, pending resolution of the dispute. The parent or guardian shall be informed of the District’s decision and their appeal rights in writing. Unaccompanied youth will also be enrolled pending resolution of the dispute.
Once the enrollment decision is made, the school shall immediately enroll the student, pursuant to District policies. If the student does not have immediate access to their immunization records, the student shall be admitted under a 30-day personal exception. (Extensions of the personal exemption must be formally requested by the parent/guardian or the unaccompanied youth.) Students and families should be encouraged to obtain current immunization records or immunizations as soon as possible, and the District liaison is directed to assist. Records from the student’s previous school shall be requested from the previous school pursuant to District policies. Emergency contact information is requested at the time of enrollment consistent with District policies.
Homeless students are entitled to transportation to their school of origin or the school where they are to be enrolled. If the school of origin is in a different district, or a homeless student is living in another district but will attend his or her school of origin in this district, the districts will make reasonable efforts to coordinate the transportation services necessary for the student.
The District’s liaison for homeless students and their families shall coordinate with local social services agencies that provide services to homeless children and youths and their families; other school districts on issues of transportation and records transfers; and state and local housing agencies responsible for comprehensive housing affordability strategies.
Legal Reference:
No Child Left Behind Act, 2002
RSA 193:12, Legal Residence Required
Adopted: December 12, 2011
