Children experiencing homelessness need a stable, supportive environment. Schools offer consistent educational experiences, teachers, and friends during this transitional time. Maintaining these school ties supports academic achievement, physical health, emotional resiliency, and learning of vital skills to escape poverty.

• Connecting youth experiencing homelessness with educational support and services.
   
• Understanding the McKinney-Vento Homeless Laws for schools in Butte County.
   
• Involving communities in supporting our families and children in need.

Educational Needs...
Educational Rights...
Definition of Homeless Children and Youth
Important Phone Numbers
Contact Info

Educational Needs...

Academic Achievement
Congress has specified that students in homeless situations should have access to the education they need to ensure that they have opportunities to meet the same challenging state academic achievement standards to which all students are held.

The Effects of Homelessness
Families experiencing homelessness are in a state of transition and crisis, affecting all aspects of the children’s lives. Students may find it difficult to get to school on time, and may be hungry, sleepy, unprepared, as well as show emotional behaviors at school. Important school and medical records may have been lost in the transition. Homework may be incomplete because the family is attending to the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Students may sleep in class because they have been trying to sleep in a car or noisy room with many others. Students may also behave emotionally, as they sort through their emotions (anger, fear, mistrust, depression) associated with homelessness.

Tutoring & Homework Help
Homework may not be a priority for homeless families; help is available at shelters Monday through Thursday, from check-in until bedtime.

Identifying students that are homeless
Parents, schools, and shelters must work together to ensure homeless students are identified and assisted by school personnel. Parents and students often feel uncomfortable telling others that they are homeless, but this is important for schools to know.

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Educational Rights...

Homeless Liaison
Federal legislation requires school districts to select a homeless liaison to ensure students in homeless situations are identified, enrolled and assisted in receiving educational services, and have transportation to and from school. Homeless Liaisons are also required to assist unaccompanied youth select and enroll in school.

School Selection
Students have the right to stay in their “school of origin” for the duration of their homelessness and until the end of the academic year in which they move into permanent housing. This selection is at the request of the parent or unaccompanied youth. A school of origin is defined as the school that the child attended when permanently housed or the school in which the child was last enrolled.

Enrollment
Parents or guardians of students in homeless situations can keep their children in the schools of origin or enroll them in any public school that students living in the same attendance area are eligible to attend. Enrollment includes participating fully in school activities. Students have the right to enroll in school immediately, even if they do not have the required documents: school records, birth certificate, medical and immunization records, or proof of residency.

Free school meals
Homeless students are eligible for free meals at school. Documentation may be submitted by the parent, homeless liaison, or shelter representative.

Transportation
Homeless students must be provided with transportation to and from their school of origin at parent or guardian request. Transportation services include crossing district boundaries or providing special education bussing. If the student transportation needs cross district boundaries, the two districts must determine how to divide the responsibility and cost, or share it equally.

Special Programs
Students should also receive the same special programs and services as provided to other children, including GATE, special education, migrant education, and vocational education.

Preschool
Homeless youth have the right to receive the same public education that all youth enjoy, including the right to attend public preschool.

Dispute Resolution
Whenever there is a disagreement, the school must immediately enroll and transport the student, as the parent wishes, until the dispute is resolved. The Homeless Liaison from the school, district or county mediates disputes between schools and families. All resolutions not favoring the family must be documented and hand delivered to the parent.

No Segregation
Law prohibits homeless students or unaccompanied youth from being separated from the mainstream school environment. They cannot be segregated in separate schools, separate programs within schools, or separate settings within schools. The law includes before, during, and after school programs.

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Definition of Homeless Children and Youth*

The term "homeless children and youth" means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence:

• Sharing the housing of other people 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, transitional shelters, or domestic violence shelters;
• Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations or similar settings;
• Having a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for ordinarily use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
• Awaiting foster care placement;
• Unaccompanied youth and runaways;
• Migratory children who qualify as homeless under a definition listed above.

* Definition from the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001, Title Vii, Subtitle B, Section 725 as modified by Title X, Part C of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

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Important Phone Numbers

6th Street Drop-In Center For Youth
(530) 894-8008

Catalyst, Domestic Violence Shelter & Services
Emergency 800-895-8476
Business (530) 343-7711

Catholic Ladies Relief Society,
Family Sheltering and Food Boxes (530) 895-8331

Chico Community Shelter Partnership
Shelter & Services (530) 891-9048

Esplanade House
Transitional Housing (530) 879-3424

HERE Program, Runaway Youth Support
Crisis 800-371-4373
Business (530) 891-2794

Jesus Center and Sabbath House,
Free Meals and Women and Children's Shelter (530) 899-9343

McKinney-Vento Consultant, CA Dept. of Education
916-319-0383

Oroville Rescue Mission
Shelter, Food & Clothing (530) 533-9120

Paradise Ridge Family Resource Center
Sheltering and Family Support Services (530) 872-3896

Boys and Girls Club
After School Program (530) 899-0335 or 872-3662

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For More Information Contact:

Toll Free: 1 (866) 280-9424

School Ties
Butte County Office of Education
1870 Bird Street
Oroville, CA 95965
Phone:  (530) 879-2328
FAX:  (530) 879-2341

Email:  schoolties@bcoe.org to contact the following:
Lee Wood, Administrator
Meagan Meloy, Program Coordinator
Josh Indar, Site Coordinator
Rhonda Corkin, Case Manager
Lorraine Congdon, Secretary
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