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Harlingen CISD

McKinney-Vento Program Information

McKinney-Vento Program Information

Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness
The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvement Act and Texas State Law protect the rights of homeless children and youth.

The Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District assures that children and youth who are experiencing homelessness and living within the district have access to the same free, appropriate public education and related services provided for all children and youth. The District Liaison for the Homeless Education Program is Sylvia Gonzalez(Email Sylvia Gonzalez), Director of Family and Community Engagement.

 

Who is homeless?

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 a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping 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 accommodation for human beings … (iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and (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).

Services available to children and youth experiencing homelessness include: transportation, school supplies, eye glasses, and emergency medical or dental services.

  • The Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, disability, or any other legally protected status in employment or provision of services, programs, or activities.

    El distrito escolar de Harlingen no discrimina en base a raza, color, origen de nacionalidad, edad, religión, sexo, discapacidad, o cualquier otro estado legalmente protegido en el empleo o en la prestación de servicios, programas o actividades.

  • Every School System must identify students experiencing homelessness within their district. This process must be done regularly and in a way that is auditable. In Texas, most districts choose to use a student residency questionnaire to help determine whether or not students qualify as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act. The TEHCY Program Infographic summarizes the identification and graduation data for students experiencing homelessness enrolled in Texas public schools.

  • Students who are experiencing homelessness are to be enrolled immediately. Districts cannot require students experiencing homelessness to provide proof of residency, immunizations, birth certificates guardianship documents, or any other sort of required paperwork before enrolling. Requiring missing paperwork or any other delay to enrollment is a violation of the McKinney-Vento Act.

  • Students who are experiencing homelessness have the right to attend school in their school of origin or in the school in the attendance area where the family or youth is currently residing. School of origin is defined as the school in which the child/youth was enrolled when they became homeless or the school in which the child/youth was last enrolled. The campus a child attends is determined by which campus can serve the best interests of the child. In Texas, a student experiencing homelessness may enroll in any district they choose, regardless of the location of their residence, school of origin, or attendance zone campus. [TEC §25.001(b)(5)]

  • Disagreements over school enrollment and best interest determinations must be resolved through the dispute resolution process. While in the dispute resolution process the child is entitled to attend the campus in question until the matter is resolved.

  • Students experiencing homelessness have the right to transportation to their school of origin. This provision applies even if a student moves outside of the school of origins’ attendance zone or district boundaries. School of origin transportation must continue for the duration of the child’s homelessness or until the end of the school year in which a child becomes permanently housed.

  • Students experiencing homelessness who are not on a Title-I campus are eligible to receive Title-I services. These services are provided at the discretion of the School System through existing Title-I programs or through the use of Title-I, Part A set-aside funds for students who are not on Title-I campuses. Students on Title-I campuses may receive additional supplemental services to the services being provided on their campus through the Title-I, Part A set-asides as well. Services may include personal school supplies, items of clothing that are necessary to meet a school’s dress requirement, immunizations, supplemental counseling services, tutoring, costs associated with credit recovery, or other similar activities to address a child’s opportunity for school success.