Overview
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized by Title X, Part C, of the No Child Left Behind Act, defines homeless children and youth as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.” Included in this definition are children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons (doubling up) due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason. Other more obvious homeless situations are: living in a shelter, living unsheltered, living in a motel/hotel, or migrating from job to job (and home to home) due to economic necessity. For a complete overview of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act see “The McKinney-Vento Act At a Glance”
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Title X of No Child Left Behind requires, among other things, that the district notify parents experiencing homelessness of their child’s educational rights under this act. The San Diego Unified School District provides schools with materials that help explain parents’ right under NCLB. Here are the key points:
- Parents, Caregivers and Unaccompanied Youth:
To learn more, read the frequently asked questions about the education of children/youth who are homeless. If you have questions or wish to access services, please contact your local school or call the Homeless Liaison’s Office at 619-725-8169. Some of the supports you are eligible to receive are:- Special enrollment assistance from the Liaison’s Office
- Free/Reduced Breakfast and/or Lunch Program
- Transportation to/from “school of origin”
- Title I, Part A services even if your son/daughter is not enrolled in a Title I school
- Dispute Resolution assistance from the Liaison’s Office.
In addition, the San Diego community also offers some supports that might be helpful for you to access. To learn about some of the special supports available for your children, see the “Services” and “Community Resources” sections below. - Staff:
To learn more, read the frequently asked questions about the education of children/youth experiencing homelessness. If you have questions or wish to access services, please contact the Homeless Liaison’s Office at 619-725-8169.For enrollment procedures, consult Administrative Procedure No. 6129, “Enrollment of Children and Youth in Transition (aka Homeless).”
For help enrolling a student in Zangle, please see Zangle KnowledgeBase #518. A copy of the SDUSD enrollment form can be found on the "How to Enroll Your Child" webpage.
When enrolling students who are experiencing homelessness, code the student’s residence code in Zangle with one of four homeless codes. The residence codes are based on the type of temporary housing (i.e. “doubling up”, shelter, hotel/motel, unsheltered).
To learn more about how to verify residency and/or to authorize a caregiver, consult Administrative Circular No. 10, “Verification of Residence for Enrollment Purposes.”
To request public transportation passes/tokens to allow a student to return to their “school of origin” complete the “Transportation Request for a Child/Youth in Transition.”
To allow a homeless student to participate in the district’s free and reduced-price lunch program, it is not necessary to have a parent/guardian/caregiver complete the application for the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program. If the student’s homeless status is properly noted in Zangle (see Residence Codes) the student will automatically be certified within a few days. For more information see Certification of Eligible Needy Students for Free and Reduced-Price Meals”, Administrative Circular No. 9
. To ensure a student’s eligibility, please enroll the student in Zangle and note their “homeless” status under the appropriate Residence Code. It may be helpful, when working with other school districts, to contact their Homeless Liaison. See the list of all school district liaisons
in San Diego County.
School Services
Most special supports and school services will be provided at least through the remainder of the current academic year—or until you find permanent housing—whichever is later. If you’d like to discuss your situation confidentially, you may call the Office of Children/Youth in Transition Liaison at (619) 725-8169 or via email at phosmer@sandi.net.
- Serving San Diego
Serving San Diego is a resource for serving people experiencing homelessness in San Diego. They provide links to many services including employment assistance, food assistance, furniture vouchers, housing assistance, utility assistance, legal assistance, medical assistance and much more. To see a summary of key services noted at the Serving San Diego website, see the Community Resources.
- San Diego County Office of Education
The San Diego County Office of Education provides a resource guide
and a brochure for homeless students. - The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency Resource List
- SDUSD Homeless Poster: English | Spanish (Printed copies are available from the SDUSD Homeless Liaison’s Office)
- Verification of Residence for Enrollment
- Transportation Request
- Caregiver Authorization
- Homeless Poster: English | Spanish
- Homeless Liaisons in San Diego County Districts
Contact Information
Office of Children and Youth in Transition
Eugene Brucker Education Center
4100 Normal Street, Annex 14
San Diego, Ca 92103
(619) 725-8169
Key Contacts
Vanessa Peters
Psychologist
Children and Youth in Transition
vpeters@sandi.net
619-725-8153
Susan Kellett
Resource Teacher
Children and Youth in Transition
skellett@sandi.net
619-725-8151
Pamela Hosmer
Liaison for Children/Youth in Transition (Foster Care and Homeless)
phosmer@sandi.net
(619) 725-8169
