Homeless Students: Enrollment Rights and Services - 3115

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, gifted and talented programs and school nutrition programs.

Homeless students are defined as lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, including those:

• Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing or economic hardship;
• Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
• Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
• 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; or
• Migratory children living in conditions described in the previous examples.

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 attendance area in which student is actually living, or other schools. Attendance rights by living in attendance areas, other student assignment policies, or intra and inter-district choice options are available to homeless families on the same terms as families resident in the district.

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 immunization records, the student shall be admitted under a personal exemption. Students and families should be encouraged to obtain current immunization records or immunizations as soon as possible. Records from the student’s previous school shall be requested from the previous school pursuant to district policies. Emergency contact information is required at the time of enrollment consistent with district policies, including compliance with the state’s address confidentiality program when necessary.

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 coordinate the transportation services necessary for the student, or will divide the costs equally.

The district’s liaison for homeless students and their families shall coordinate with local social service 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. This coordination includes providing public notice of the educational rights of homeless students in schools, family shelters and soup kitchens.

The district’s liaison will also review and recommend amendments to district policies that may act as barriers to the enrollment of homeless students.

Cross References:
Policy 3121 Enrollment and Attendance Records Policy 3413 Student Immunization Policy 3600 Student Records

Legal References:
RCW 28A.225.215  Enrollment of children without legal residences
Title X, Part C No Child Left Behind Act, 2002

Adopted: 7/22/03