Homeless student information

Community Consolidated School District 89 welcomes all the students who reside within its boundaries, or who are otherwise eligible to attend its schools. The district is committed to providing a high-quality, free and appropriate education to all of its students, regardless of their needs or circumstances.

McKinney-Vento: Federal Homeless Education Legislation
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act ensures the educational rights and protections of homeless children and youth so they may enroll in school, attend regularly, and be successful. The legislation requires a local homeless education liaison in every school district to assist children and unaccompanied youth in their efforts to attend school. This Act guarantees homeless children and youth the following:

• The right to immediate enrollment in school, even if lacking paperwork normally required for enrollment.
• The right to attend school in his/her school of origin (if this is requested by the parent and is feasible) or in the school in the attendance area where the family or youth is currently residing
• The right to receive transportation to his/her school of origin, if this is requested by the parent.
• The right to services comparable to those received by housed schoolmates, including transportation and supplemental educational services.
• The right to attend school along with children not experiencing homelessness. Segregation based on a student's status as homeless is strictly prohibited.
• The posting of homeless students’ rights in all schools and other places around the community.

While having the opportunity to enroll and succeed in school may seem like a given to many of us, the McKinney-Vento Act was enacted due to the numerous barriers homeless children faced in obtaining a free, appropriate, public education. It is the goal of the DuPage Regional Office of Education to create public awareness of the rights of homeless children and youth and to ensure compliance with the law at the state and local levels.

Who is homeless?
The term "homeless children and youth", as defined by the McKinney-Vento Act, means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and includes:

• 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, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or awaiting foster-care placement;
• Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
• Children and youths who are living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, substandard housing, bus/train station, or similar settings;
• Migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described above.

Education rights of students who are homeless
Community Consolidated School District 89 uses the definitions of homelessness and addresses the educational rights of students who are homeless as set forth in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act. Every CCSD 89 student is entitled to a free and appropriate education.

Every school district is required to designate a person to serve as a “Homeless Liaison.” The liaison can help with problems related to enrollment, request transportation on behalf of the children, help obtain immunizations or immunization records and birth certificates, and help mediate disputes with the school district. They also help youth without parents or guardians.

If you think your family may qualify for homeless services, or your family is having financial difficulties, please contact your school principal or your school social worker. Your information will always be treated confidentially.

Liaison information

Katie Kreller, CCSD 89 Homeless Liaison
(630) 469-8900, ext. 3515

Heather Britton, Homeless Student Advocate, DuPage Regional Office of Education
(630) 534-7589

Additional information
See Board Policy 6:140 Education of Homeless Children