Pursuant to district Policy JLG, this district does not refer to children as homeless, instead using the term “children and youths in transition.” Under federal law, children and youths in transition must have access to appropriate public education, including preschool education when applicable, must be able to fully participate in school and extracurricular activities, and must have access to educational, transportation and other services that they need to assist them in meeting the same challenging State student academic achievement standards to which all students are held. Our schools will ensure that children and youths in transition are not stigmatized or segregated and are free from discrimination and harassment. In addition, children and youths in transition may not be separated from the mainstream school environment based solely on the fact that they are experiencing homelessness.
Title IX Part A of the Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) is also known as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. This act is designed to address the problems that children and youth in transition face in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school.
Every school district is required to have a trained, local homeless education liaison to identify and assist families in transition with enrolling and fully participating in school. This school district’s McKinney-Vento liaison is Shad Hamilton, 307-782-3377 Extension 4207, [email protected].