Sheridan Homeless Education Program

One Child-One School-One Year

Mission:

The purpose of the Homeless Education Program in Sheridan is to provide support to students and families experiencing transition in their living situation.  The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, a federal law that applies to all public schools in the US, defines homelessness as "lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence."  This same law grants specific educational rights to students experiencing homelessness.  The Sheridan School District is committed to making sure that the mandates of the law are fulfilled and that barriers are removed so that all students experiencing homelessness have an opportunity to succeed in school.

Who is Homeless?

Every year, nearly 10% of students attending Sheridan Schools are identified as residing in a homeless situation for part or all of the year.  This includes children and youth aged birth-21 years old that lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence

Examples include children & youth who:

• Share housing with other persons due to loss of housing, economic                                hardship, or a similar reason

• Live in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations

• Live in emergency or transitional shelters

• Are abandoned in hospitals

• Are awaiting foster care placement
  
• Have a primary nighttime residence that is not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings
  
• Live in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings
  
• Are migratory children living in the aforementioned circumstances
  
• Are unaccompanied youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian

What rights do homeless students have?

Go to school, no matter where they live or how long they have lived there; 

Choose between the local school where they are living, the school they attended before they lost their housing, or the school where they were last enrolled;

Enroll in school without proof of residency, immunizations, school records, or other documents;

Get all the school services they need;

Be free from harassment and isolation; and

Have disagreements with the school settled quickly.

 

Free Clothes
Brochure
Transportation
McKinney-Vento Handout