Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 200 - Board of Education › Chapter 20 - Council on Elementary and Secondary Education › Subchapter 30 - Student Supports › Part 5 - State Regulations Education of Homeless Children and Youth › Section 200-RICR-20-30-5.4 - Responsibilities of Districts

Current through June 14, 2024
A. Out-Reach
				  Responsibilities. A school district must ensure, "the enrollment and attendance
				  of [H]omeless [C]hildren and [Y]ouths who are not currently attending school,"
				  as per the McKinney Vento Act, 42 U.S.C. § 11432g(3)(C). Schools must
				  revise their policies so that these policies do not act as a barrier to the
				  enrollment and retention of Homeless Children.
B. Comparable Services. School districts
				  shall provide each Homeless Child and Youth with services comparable to the
				  services offered to other students, as per 42 U.S.C. § 11432g(4),
				  including transportation services and educational services for which the
				  Homeless Child or Youth meets the eligibility criteria, such as pre-school,
				  compensatory education, special education, LEP, vocational education, gifted
				  and talented, school meal programs, and before- and after-school care
				  programs.
C. Prevention of
				  Isolation and Stigmatization. A school district shall adopt policies and
				  practices to ensure that Homeless Children and Youth are not isolated or
				  stigmatized, as per 42 U.S.C. § 11432g(1)(J)(i). Homelessness alone shall
				  not be sufficient reason to separate students from the mainstream school
				  environment. Districts may not maintain segregated schools or facilities for
				  Homeless Children and Youth. A school district may separate Homeless Students
				  from other students only as necessary for short periods of time to deal with
				  health or safety emergencies, or to provide temporary, special, and
				  supplementary services to meet the unique needs of Homeless Students.
D. Opportunity to Meet Challenging
				  Performance Standards. Homeless Students shall have access to the education and
				  other services that they need to ensure that they have an equal opportunity to
				  meet the same challenging State student performance standards to which all
				  students are held accountable, as per 42 U.S.C. § 11432g(4).
E. District Liaisons for Homeless Children
				  and Youth. Every school district will designate a staff person to serve as a
				  liaison for Homeless Students, as per 42 U.S.C. § 11432g(6). The liaison
				  will help ensure that Homeless Students enroll in, and have a full opportunity
				  to succeed in the schools of the district. The responsibilities of the liaison
				  include ensuring that:
1. Children and youth
				  in homeless situations are identified by school personnel and through
				  coordination activities with other entities and agencies.
2. Homeless Students enroll in, and have a
				  full and equal opportunity to succeed in, schools of the district.
3. Families, Homeless Children, and Youth
				  receive educational services for which they are eligible, including Head Start,
				  Even Start, and pre-school programs administered by the district, and referrals
				  to health, mental health, dental, and other appropriate services.
4. The district informs the parents or
				  guardians of Homeless Students of the educational and related opportunities
				  available to their children and provides them with meaningful opportunities to
				  participate in the education of their children.
5. The district disseminates public notice of
				  the educational rights of Homeless Students in places in which these children
				  receive services under the McKinney-Vento Act.
6. The district properly mediates enrollment
				  disputes, as per 42 U.S.C. § 11432g(3)(E).
7. The district informs the parent or
				  guardian of a Homeless Student, and any unaccompanied youth, of the
				  transportation services that the district must make available, and assists the
				  child or youth in accessing transportation to school.