McKinney Vento

On December 10, 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) was signed into law, reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Under the previous version of ESEA (the No Child Left Behind Act), the education of homeless children and youth was included in Title X, Part C. Under ESSA, homeless education is included in Title IX, Part A. The Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program entitles children who are experiencing homeless to a free, appropriate public education and requires schools to remove barriers to their enrollment, attendance, and success in school. This Act protects all students who do not have a fixed, regular and adequate residence, such as students living in the following situations:

• doubled-up or sharing the housing with others due to an economic hardship
• runaway/homeless youth shelters (even if parents invite the youth home);
• hotels or motels;
• shelters, including domestic violence shelters;
• transitional housing shelters;
• cars, abandoned buildings parks, the streets or other public spaces;
• campgrounds or inadequate trailer homes
• abandoned in a hospital
• other

Hoke County Schools Homeless Education Data

Educational Rights of Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Children and youth experiencing homelessness have the right to

• Receive a free, appropriate public education.
• Enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment, or having missed application or enrollment deadlines during any period of homelessness.
• Enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents.
• Enroll in the local attendance area school or continue attending their school of origin (the school they attended when permanently housed or the school in which they were last enrolled), if that is the parent's, guardian's, or unaccompanied youth's preference. If the school district believes the school selected is not in the student's best interest, then the district must provide the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth with a written explanation of its position and inform him/her of the right to appeal its decision.
• Receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if requested by the parent, guardian, or local liaison on behalf of an unaccompanied youth.
• Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to the student's need.

Retrieved from: https://nche.ed.gov/nche/rights.html

Parent Information

What You Need to Know to Help Your Child in School

English: https://nche.ed.gov/downloads/parentbrochure_eng.pdf

Spanish: https://nche.ed.gov/downloads/parentbrochure_sp.pdf

State Coordinator for Homeless Education

Lisa Phillips | North Carolina Homeless Education Program | lphillip@serve.org

Local Homeless Education Liaison

Peggy L. Owens, Ed.D | Executive Director of Student Support Services | powens@hcs.k12.nc.us

Click on the North Carolina Homeless Education Program link below to go to the Main Website.

https://hepnc.uncg.edu/