The District will ensure that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including public preschool education, as provided to other children and youths. The District will not stigmatize or segregate students on the basis of their status as homeless. The District will, through its homeless liaison, identify and assess the educational needs of homeless children and youths, including removal of barriers to homeless students’ education. The District will provide transportation, at the request of the parent or guardian (or in the case of an unaccompanied youth, the District’s liaison), to and from the school of origin.
Homeless students are those lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
This includes:
• Children and youths sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;
• Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
• Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
• Migratory children who qualify as homeless because the children are living in circumstances described above. Immediately upon identifying a student as homeless, the District will ensure the student is receiving homeless services, comparable to the services offered to other students of the District.
