Beebe School District

2021-22 Beebe School District Homeless Public Notice

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Local Liaison: Art Bell, Director of Federal Programs, 501-882-5463

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Public Notice: Education Rights of Homeless Students Under McKinney-Vento Act

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Who is considered “homeless?”

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Children and youth who lack a fixed, regular island adequate nighttime residence, including those who share housing due to loss of housing or economic hardship or similar reasons. It includes children living in a homeless shelter, motels, campgrounds, cars, parks, abandoned buildings, or other similar settings, or youth awaiting foster care placement or migratory youth fitting into one of these categories.

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Educational rights of homeless children:

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Equitable and comparable access to a free and public education, including:

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• Immediate enrollment in school, including public preschool. (Headstart, Even Start…) and, if requested, at their “school or origin;”

• Prompt provision of free meal program services;

• Prompt meeting with the local homeless liaison;

• Dispute resolution

• Expedited evaluations necessary to program placement;

• Appropriate educational services based on an assessment of individual needs, participation in educational programs provided to non-homeless counterparts, including local and statewide assessments, special education services, vocational education, other special programs (GATE, counseling, ELL, before and after school programs, mentoring, summer school;

• Referral to medical, dental, mental, and other health services

• Automatic enrollment in title I program support services;

• Parent or guardian involvement, including education about resources and rights available to homeless children;

• Provision of school supplies to eligible students in temporary housing;

• Transportation to and from school

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School of origin: The school the student attended while permanently housed or the school in which he/she was last enrolled is the “school of origin.” The district will, to the extent feasible, keep children and youth at their school of origin unless doing so is contrary to the choice of the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth. The district must consider the best interests of the child. 

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Right to appeal: If the placement decision made by the district is to place the child in a school other than the school of origin or a school requested by the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth, the decision may be appealed. The local liaison will assist the student’s appeal process. The student will be enrolled immediately (even without immunization records, birth certificate, proof of residency, or other “usually” required documentation) in the parent-requested school while the appeal is pending.

This information can also be found on our website under "State Required Information" - https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws...