MCKINNEY-VENTO HOMELESS ASSISTANCE
If due to loss of housing and/or economic hardship, you must live in a shelter, motel, vehicle or campground, on the street, in abandoned buildings or trailers or other inadequate accommodations, or doubled up with relatives or friends because you cannot find or afford housing, then according to the McKinney-Vento Act, you may be considered homeless.
Your children have the right to:
- Go to school, no matter where they live or how long you have lived there. They must be given access to the same public education provided to other students.
- Continue in the school they attended before becoming homeless or the school they last attended, if that is their choice and is feasible. The school district’s local liaison for homeless education must assist them, if needed, and offer them the right to appeal a decision regarding their choice of school if it goes against their wishes.
- Receive transportation to the school they attended before they became homeless or the school they last attended, if they request such transportation.
- Attend a school and participate in school programs with students who are not homeless. Students cannot be separated from the regular school program because they are homeless.
- Enroll in school without giving a permanent address. Schools cannot require proof of residency that might prevent or delay school enrollment.
- Enroll and attend classes while the school arranges for the transfer of school and immunization records or any other documents required for enrollment.
- Enroll and attend classes in the school of their choice even while the school seeks to resolve a dispute over enrollment.
- Receive the same special programs and services, if needed, as provided to all other children served in these programs.
- Receive transportation to school and to school programs.
Also considered homeless are some refugees, unaccompanied youth, or individuals living in substandard housing.
For questions or assistance, contact the Mckinney-Vento Homeless Liaison Jovonne Dempster at 623-249-3900 or jovonnedempster@wsst.school
Child Find
Western School of Science and Technology: A Challenge Foundation Academy (Western: CFA) offers screenings to locate, identify, and evaluate all children who may have a disability as part of its child find efforts. If you know a child who has a disability or that you suspect may have difficulty with learning, communication, vision, hearing, behavior, or motor control and coordination, please contact the special education department at your local public school district or the charter school the student attends.
Western: CFA screens children from preschool through high school. We refer infants and toddlers with disabilities to the Arizona Early Intervention Program for services. All child find referrals are considered confidential and services are provided at no cost to the family.
For more information concerning child find screenings, contact Daniel Charns, Special Education Director, at dcharns@wsst.school
