Annual Notice Homeless Children and Youth

The McKinney-Vento Act

The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children and youth as:

Children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and includes children and youth who are:

• sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason
• living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations
• living in emergency or transitional shelters
• abandoned in hospitals
• living in 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
• living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
• migratory children who qualify as homeless because the children are living in circumstances described above

If you are personally aware of or are acquainted with any children or youth who may qualify according to the above criteria, One City Schools provides the following assurances to parents and guardians of homeless children and youth and unaccompanied homeless youth:

• At the time of identification, families/homeless youth are provided with a written notice of their educational rights under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act. This includes their rights to transportation to and from school, at the responsibility of the LEA. 
• Although One City does not provide transportation as part of our regular program, we do work with homeless families to ensure that they are able to have their transportation needs to and from school met. The means through which transportation is provided is based upon the individual circumstances of the student in question. 
• If more appropriate for a given family's situation, we are prepared to provide gas vouchers for homeless families who do have a vehicle. We also stand prepared to coordinate cost-sharing and logistics of transportation with local districts from which a homeless youth were to enroll.
• One City will ensure that any homeless youth, including unaccompanied youth, is able to immediately enroll even in the absence of typically required records (such as academic records, medical records, proof of residency, etc.) In the absence of required immunizations or medical records, our homeless liaison will immediately assist with obtaining such immunizations or securing previous records. 
• One City's Director of Family and Community Initiatives, Marilyn Ruffin, serves as both enrollment coordinator and also the LEA's homeless liaison. The tie between these roles ensures that all homeless families are able to seamlessly and immediately enroll at One City without barriers. We believe that syncing these roles will help avoid any confusion over the rights of homeless students to immediately enroll. In cases where a homeless student enrolls with One City, the homeless liaison will immediately contact the previous school to obtain any possible documentation. Again, One City will ensure homeless youth are able to enroll even in the absence of typically required records. 
• In cases where a homeless student from One City moves to another district, One City's homeless liaison will work with One City's Director of Operations and Strategy to immediately compile and transfer any records relating to the student directly to the new district of enrollment for that student. Student records that One City receives will be immediately and applicably integrated into our Student Information System, PowerSchool, to ensure the students records are within One City's system in a timely fashion.

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Dispute Resolution: 

• As an LEA with only a single school serving each grade, there is no optionality regarding the school of best interest for the student, which is a very common source of formal disputes relating to homeless students. Any homeless student seeking to enroll with One City will be enrolled in our only school. One City's homeless liaison will also take other measures to prevent and diffuse disputes prior to a formal complaint, including staff training, proactive communication with affected families and facilitating discussions as necessary. 
• With regard to formal disputes, the parent/guardian/unaccompanied youth will be guided through the process by the homeless liaison. To initiate a formal dispute, the complainant will submit either a written or oral statement to the Principal, outlining the area of issue and any relevant information. Within 10 business days of receipt of the dispute, the Principal will provide the parent/guardian/unaccompanied youth with a written explanation of his/her decision related to the dispute. If the complainant is not satisfied with the decision, the complainant will then be able to appeal to the CEO of One City Schools by submitting another written or oral statement. The CEO will issue a decision on the appeal in writing within 30 business days of the appeal, which will stand as the LEA's final decision. 
• All One City policies and procedures will be communicated to parents/guardians through One City's Parent Handbook, which is made available to families electronically at the beginning of the year, or, time of enrollment (if the student enrolls mid-year), as well as by hard copy upon request at the school. Additionally, homeless youth, parents and guardians will be advised by the homeless liaison of their full rights at their time of enrollment.

Please contact Rayna Briggs, homeless liaison for One City Schools , at  (608) 622-7419 or rbriggs@onecityschools.org  for additional information.

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Heidy Duarte-Administrative Manager/Professional Translator Email: hduarte@onecityschools.org 

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Joanna Gonzalez-Nursing Assistant/Professional Translator Email: jgonzalez@onecityschools.org 

Resources: 211 Wisconsin