BP 6173 — Education for Homeless Children

Section: 6000 - Instruction
Status: Active

Adopted: 2015-06-23

Revised: 2023-08-17

Policy text

EDUCATION FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN

The Governing Board believes that the identification of students experiencing homelessness is critical to improving the educational outcomes of such students and ensuring that students experiencing homelessness have access to the same free and appropriate public education provided to other students within the district. The district shall provide students experiencing homelessness with access to education and other services necessary for them to meet the same challenging academic standards as other students.

When there are at least 15 students experiencing homelessness in the district or a district school, the district’s local control and accountability plan (LCAP) shall include goals and specific actions to improve student achievement and other outcomes of students experiencing homelessness.

The Superintendent or designee shall review district policies at least once every three years and recommend updates to ensure the removal of any barriers to the education of homeless students and unaccompanied youth. Any such review shall address identification, enrollment, and retention of such students, including those barriers that are due to absences or outstanding fees or fines.

The Superintendent or designee shall designate an appropriate staff person to serve as a liaison for homeless children and youths. The district liaison shall fulfill the duties specified in 42 USC 11432 to assist in identifying and supporting students experiencing homelessness to succeed in school, and as specified in Education Code 48851.3 related to trainings for district staff providing assistance to students experiencing homelessness.

The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that each district school identifies all students experiencing homelessness and unaccompanied youths enrolled at the school.

To ensure easy identification of students experiencing homelessness, the Superintendent or designee shall annually provide and administer a housing questionnaire developed by the California Department of Education (CDE) to all parents/guardians of students and all unaccompanied youths.

If the primary language of a student’s parent/guardian or unaccompanied youth is not English, either the housing questionnaire shall be made available in the primary language of the student’s parent/guardian or the unaccompanied youth pursuant to Education Code 48985, or an appropriate translation of the housing questionnaire shall be provided upon request of a student’s parent/guardian or unaccompanied youth.

The Superintendent or designee shall report to CDE the number of students experiencing homelessness, including unaccompanied youths, enrolled in the district as identified from the housing questionnaire described above.

In addition, the Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the district liaison’s contact information and other information on homelessness, including, but not limited to, information regarding the educational rights and resources available to persons experiencing homelessness, are posted on the district and school web sites as specified in the accompanying administrative regulation. The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that placement decisions for students experiencing homelessness are based on the student’s best interest as defined in law and administrative regulation. Each student experiencing homelessness shall be provided services that are comparable to services offered to other students in the school, including, but not limited to, transportation, educational programs for which the student meets the eligibility criteria (such as federal Title I services or similar state or local programs, programs for students with disabilities, and educational programs for English learners), career and technical education programs, programs for gifted and talented students, and school nutrition programs. Students experiencing homelessness shall not be segregated into a separate school or program based on their status as homeless and shall not be stigmatized in any way. However, the Superintendent or designee may separate students experiencing homelessness on school grounds as necessary for short periods of time for health and safety emergencies or to provide temporary, special, and supplementary services to meet their unique needs.

The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that information and/or materials for students experiencing homelessness are provided in a manner and form understandable to the student’s parents/guardians and to unaccompanied youths.

Information about the living situation of a student experiencing homelessness shall be considered part of a student’s educational record, subject to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, shall not be deemed to be directory information as defined in 20 USC 1232g, and shall not be released without written consent.

The Superintendent or designee shall coordinate with other agencies and entities to ensure that students experiencing homelessness are promptly identified, ensure that students experiencing homelessness have access to and are in reasonable proximity to available education and related support services, and raise the awareness of school personnel and service providers of the effects of short-term stays in a shelter and other challenges associated with homelessness. Toward these ends, the Superintendent or designee shall collaborate with local social services agencies, other agencies or entities providing services to students experiencing homelessness, and, if applicable, transitional housing facilities. In addition, the Superintendent or designee shall coordinate transportation, transfer of school records, and other interdistrict activities with other local educational agencies. As necessary, the Superintendent or designee shall coordinate, within the district and with other involved local educational agencies, services for students experiencing homelessness and services for students with disabilities.

At least annually, the district liaison and other appropriate staff shall participate in professional development and other technical assistance activities to assist them in identifying and meeting the needs of students experiencing homelessness. Such professional development and technical assistance shall include, but are not limited to, training on the district’s homeless education program policies, definitions of terms related to homelessness, recognition of signs that students are experiencing or are at risk of experiencing homelessness, the steps that should be taken once a potentially homeless student is identified, and how to connect students experiencing homelessness with appropriate housing and service providers.

At least annually, when there are at least 15 students experiencing homelessness in the district or a district school, and in accordance with the established timelines, the Superintendent or designee shall report to the Board on outcomes for students experiencing homelessness, which may include, but are not limited to, school attendance, student achievement test results, promotion and retention rates by grade level, graduation rates, suspension/expulsion rates, and other outcomes related to any goals and specific actions identified in the LCAP. Based on the evaluation data, the district shall revise its strategies as needed to better support the education of students experiencing homelessness.

Annually, the Superintendent or designee shall report to CDE, in accordance with Education Code 51225.1, the number of students experiencing homelessness graduating from the fourth or fifth year of high school who, for the prior school year, graduated with an exemption from district-established graduation requirements that are in addition to statewide coursework requirements.