Homeless Information

Students in Transition - Columbus Community Schools McKinney-Vento/Homeless Assistance

All students have rights when it comes to attending school.  Students who lack regular housing have additional rights.  Many times these students are referred as "homeless", but here at Columbus we realize the students usually have a support network, and therefore we refer to the students as "students in transition" (SIT).

Who is Homeless/SIT?

The term "homeless children and youth" - 

A. means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence..; and

B. includes - 

i. children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason; are living in motels, hotels or trailer parks, or camp grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;

ii. children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping for human beings;

iii. children or youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;

iv. migratory children...who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii)

Educational Rights!

Under the McKinney-Vento Act, children in homeless situations have the right to:

*Go to school, no matter where they live or how long they have lived there

*Attend either the local school or the school or origin, if htis is in their best interest; the school of origin is the school the child attended when he/she was permanently housed or the school in which the child was last enrolled

*Receive transportation to and from the school of origin

*Enroll in school immediately, even if missin records and documents normally required for enrollment such as birth certificate, proof of residence, previous school records, or immunization/medical records

*Enroll, attend classes, and fully participate in all school activities while the school arranges for the transfer of records

*Have access to teh same programs and services that are available to all other students including transporation and supplemental educaitonal services

*Attend school with children not experiencing homelessness; segregation based on a student's status as homeless is prohibited