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KEARNY BOARD OF EDUCATION File Code: 5111 Kearny, New Jersey
POLICY - Homeless Students |
The Kearny Board of Education is committed to ensuing that all homeless students have equal access to the same free public education that other students have. This policy explains the Kearny Board of Education’s responsibilities under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 for identifying and serving homeless students.
1. DEFINITION OF HOMELESS STUDENTS
Homeless students are children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes those who are:
§ Sharing the housing of other persons because of loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
§ Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds because of the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
§ Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
§ Awaiting foster care placement;
§ Living in a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations for human beings;
§ Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; or
§ Living in a migratory situation that qualifies as homeless because a child lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.
2. DISTRICT LIAISON FOR HOMELESS STUDENTS
The Liaison for homeless students will provide enrollment support and coordinate services within the school district and through community agencies in order to ensure that each homeless child or youth has equal access to an education in the Kearny School District. Specifically, the Liaison has the following responsibilities:
§ Making sure that homeless children enroll in and have a full and equal opportunity to succeed in district schools;
§ Making sure that homeless families and children receive educational services they’re entitled to, such as preschool care, and referrals to services, such as health care;
§ Making sure that the parents and guardians of homeless children are informed of the educational opportunities available to their children and are given opportunities to participate;
§ Distributing a public notice of the educational rights of homeless children where such children receive services, such as schools, family shelters, and soup kitchens; and
§ Making sure that enrollment disputes are mediated appropriately. If a dispute arises between the Kearny School District and parents about school selection or enrollment, the district must immediately enroll the student in the requested school, pending resolution of the dispute.
3. ENROLLMENT RECORDS
Homeless students will enroll, attend classes, and participate fully in school activities. If critical enrollment records, including immunization and medical records, are not immediately available for homeless children, the Liaison and school staff will work with these children and other agencies to obtain them in a timely manner.
4. PLACEMENT
The Liaison for homeless students, with help from other school staff, will decide on homeless students’ placement in school based on the students’ “best interests”. In making this determination, the Kearny Board of Education must, to the extent feasible, continue the student’s education in his or her “school of origin” – that is, the district school the student had been attending prior to becoming homeless – unless the student’s parents or guardians want him placed in another school.
5. TRANSPORTATION
The Kearny Board of Education will provide homeless students in the district with transportation services comparable to those of other students. Also, individual accommodations will be considered. If a homeless student moves out of the district but continues to attend a district school, the district will coordinate services with the new district to meet the student’s transportation needs. The school principal, the Liaison, and the transportation manager will coordinate homeless students’ transportation needs.
Adopted: December 15, 2003