ChapterFive:EnrollingHomelessStudents

Enrollinghomelessstudentsis a coreconceptintheMcKinney-VentoActas the law’s purposeisto ensurethat everyhomelesschildoryouthhasequal accesstoa free,appropriate,public education.Thetermenrollmentisa criticalpart ofthelaw andis definedas, “attendingclasses andparticipating fullyinschool activities”[42U.S.C. § 11434(a)(1)].Schoolsarerequiredto enrollhomeless studentsimmediately,even if they have missed application or enrollment deadlines while experiencing homelessness and regardlessofwhat pointintheschoolyearin whicha homelessstudent presentsforenrollment.

In additiontoenrollingstudentsinthegeneraleducationprogram,local liaisonsareto ensurethat homelessstudentsreceiveeducationalandrelated servicesforwhichthefamiliesandstudentsareeligible.Asa result,homelessstudentsshouldbeenrolledinanyprogramoperatedbythe school thatis appropriateforthe student’s needs,suchastheschoolmeals program, servicesthroughTitle I,PartA,schooltransportation, and preschool programs administered by the local educational agency. It is important to note that homeless students are eligible for Title I Part A services even if they are not attending a Title I school [20 U.S.C. § 6315(c)(2)(E)]. Local liaisons alsomust ensure access to community-basedprograms suchasHeadStart(including Early Head Start), otherpublicpreschoolprograms,early intervention services under part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), andhealthcare, dental,mental healthand substance abuse services, and housingservicesthatfacilitateschoolattendanceorsuccess. It isappropriateto provide these referralsat thetimeof enrollment. (SeeChapter7TransportationformoreinformationandChapter16Related LegislationandGuidanceformoreinformationonotherschoolservices.) Also, students must be enrolled immediately.

Section5.1DocumentsRequiredforEnrollment

Studentsexperiencinghomelessnessoftendonot havedocumentsor records thataretypically requiredforschoolenrollment.TheMcKinney-VentoAct recognizesthat studentsoftendonot havetheusual documentationatthe timeofenrollmentandrequiresschoolsto enrollhomelessstudentsevenif theydonot havepaperworknormallyrequired.Liaisonsorotherappointed staffshouldfollowup withthefamily andassistthemwithobtainingschool, immunization,orhealthrecordsneededbytheschool.

Districtsshouldreviewandreviseenrollmentpoliciesto allowfor reasonableflexibility regardingenrollmentdocumentation.Forexample, districtsoftenrequire“reasonableproofofdateofbirth” atthetimeof enrollment.While abirthcertificatewouldobviouslymeetthisneed,other optionscouldincludemedicalrecordsthatincludeadateofbirth, baptismal records,passports,orothergovernmentissueddocumentation.Additionally, thelimitedresourcesof homelessfamiliescan makeitespeciallydifficultfor parentsorguardiansto make unplannedvisitstotheschool,especiallyifit requiresthemto misswork. Asa result,totheextent possible,schoolsshouldgatherall necessarydocuments,completerequiredforms,andmakeappropriatereferralsatthetimeoftheinitialvisitto theschoolfor enrollment.

Section5.2PlacingStudentsinClassroomsWithoutRecords

Tomaximizecontinuity andminimizedisruption,immediateenrollmentand appropriateplacementdecisionsrequirea quickanalysisofinformation availableabout thestudentbeingenrolled.Aquickanalysisofstudentneeds canstartwith whateverinformationisreadilyonhand.LEAsshouldrequest recordsimmediatelyfromtheschoolsthatstudentsattendedpreviously.For thosestudents,whoserecordsmight beunavailable orpossiblyeven damagedormissingduetoa natural disaster,itisincumbentupon receiving schoolsto beginbuildingnewstudentrecordsbasedoninformationgatheredfromparents,students,local districtorstate-level student databases,andanyotherreliablesourcesofstudentinformation.While waiting forrecordstoarrive,phoneoremailconversationswith teachersand schoolcounselorsmay assistliaisonsindeterminingwhichclassroomisan appropriateplacementforstudents.Similarly, doctors,nurses,or psychologistsinvolvedintheevaluationanddevelopmentofan IndividualizedEducationProgram(IEP)can also helpschoolsdeterminethe mostappropriateclassroomplacement. Reportcards,tests,andhomework assignmentsprovidedbyfamiliesoryouth can begoodsourcesofinformationas well.

Sample questionsforparentsinclude:

  • Doyou haveanypapersfromthepreviousschool,suchasnotesfrom teachers,homeworkassignments,tests,progressreports,oranyother papers?
  • Haveyouworkedwithyourchildonanyrecenthomework assignments?Ifso,what weretheassignmentsabout?

•Whatwere your child’sgrades like? What doesyourchild findeasy?

Difficult?

•Didyouevergoto a meetingatschoolwitha lot ofteachers,adoctor, orsomeonefromtheschooldistrictoffice?

•Didyoueversignanypapersthat talkedabout goals foryourchildor specialschoolservices?

•Howmany students were in yourchild’s classroom?

•Howmany teachers were in yourchild’s classroom?

Sample questionsforstudentscouldinclude:

Whatwasyourschoolday like at your former school?

•Whatwereyou learninginyourmath/history/science/language class?

•Whatdidyou findeasy?Difficult?

•Whatweresomeofyourrecenthomeworkassignments?Doyou have anyoldhomeworkassignments,tests,notesfromteachers,orother papersfromschool?

•Whatwasthenameofyourmath/history/science/languageclass?

•Didyoueverspendtimealoneorina small groupwith a different teacher?

•Didyoueverspendtimealoneorina small groupinadifferent classroom?

•Whatwereyourgradeslike?

Manytextbookshaveplacement testsandchapterorunit pretests.Thesecan oftenbeusedquicklyandeasilybyclassroomteachersto guideinstructional placement decisions.Ultimately,homelessstudentsmust beplacedintothe classesthat seemmostappropriateat thetimeofenrollment,with adjustmentsmadelaterbasedonnewinformation,ifnecessary.

Section5.3EnrollingUnaccompaniedHomelessYouth

Duetotherecognitionofunaccompaniedhomelessyouths bytheMcKinney- VentoAct,itisimportantto notethat the absenceofa parentorguardianis not sufficientreasontodelayor denyenrollment.Unaccompaniedhomeless youthwhoarecompletelyontheirownorstayingwitha non-custodial caregivermust beenrolledimmediately.Conditionalenrollmentbasedontherequirementthat anadultobtainlegal guardianshiporcustodianship withinasetamountoftime directlycontradictsthelaw.

Liaisonsarespecificallychargedwithensuringthatunaccompanied homelessyouthareawareoftheeducationalandrelatedopportunities available tothem. Liaisonsshoulddiscusstheoptionsforenrollmentwith unaccompaniedyouthandensuretheyreceiveassistancewith making enrollmentdecisions, giving priority to the youth’s wishes.

Caregiverforms,whichoutlinewhocan act onbehalf ofanunaccompanied youthineducationalmatters,can beveryhelpfulduringenrollmentand whenmaking educationaldecisionsforthestudents.Asyourdistrict developsnew formsor revisesexistingones,language thatcreates enrollmentbarriersor delaysshouldbeavoided.

Section5.4OtherConsiderations

In additiontotheMcKinney-VentoAct,otherstateandfederallawsmay dictatetheprocessusedto enrollhomelessstudents.Forexample,the FamilyEducationalRightsandPrivacyAct (FERPA)outlinesto whomrecords can bereleasedandunder what conditions,whichcan beespecially important whenenrollingstudentswhoaresurvivorsofdomesticviolence. FERPA doesallow forthetransferofrecordsfromonelocal educational agency(LEA)to anotherwithoutparental consent,aslong astheLEAhas madeareasonableattempt to notifytheparentof thedisclosureorincludes inthe district’s annualFERPA notification to parents thatschool records will beforwardedto enrollingschools.Thisallowsdistrictstoeasilygetrecords neededforunaccompaniedhomelessyouth.

IDEAcontainsspecific timelinesthatbeginassoonasstudentswithdisabilitiesenroll;workingwith the district’s special education departmentcanensureasmoothtransitionforhomelessstudentswhohavedisabilities.

Along withworkingwithotherlawsandpolicies, local liaisonsalso oftenneedto workcloselywithlocaltruancyofficersorstateattendanceofficersandmay want toconsultwiththemregardingstatecompulsoryeducationlaw,state mandatedcaregiverforms,andothersimilarissues.

5-1 | NCHELocal Liaison Toolkit: Enrolling Homeless Students

Unfortunately,somestudentswill presentthemselvesforenrollmentata pointduringthesemesterorschoolyearatwhichitwouldbeimpossiblefor studentsto accruecreditsforclassesundernormalcircumstances. In this instance,schoolsmust stillallowthestudenttoenrollinandattendschool andparticipateinschoolactivities. Meanwhile, local liaisons must ensure students receive appropriate credit for full or partial coursework satisfactorily completed while attending a prior school.Thatcould includeprovidingpartial creditsforcompletedwork,providingmastery-basedcredits,using creditrecoveryprograms, chunkingcredits,orpossibly using summerschoolopportunitiesto make upforlost schooltime.

Section5.5UsefulLinks

IssueBrief:Enrollment

IssueBrief:PromptandProperPlacement:EnrollingStudentsWithout Records

IssueBrief:WhenLegalGuardians arenotPresent:EnrollingStudentson TheirOwn