As part of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), provisions have been made to ensure that homeless students have no barriers to getting an education comparable with any other students. Education is the key to students being able to change their lives, and certainly for homeless students, we want to work to see that they have an equal chance at obtaining their education.

The act defines homeless children as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” This includes crowding too many people in a living space, doubling up with friends or relatives due to a loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason, spending the night in a place not meant for regular sleeping such as an abandoned building, on the street, trailer, campground, tent, car, or other inadequate shelter, living in hotels/motels, or shelters.

If a student fits the definition of homeless, the school will work to assist them in removing barriers that might prevent them from getting their education. Anyone who feels their child may qualify as homeless should contact your school’s counselor who is the school’s homeless liaison. Anyone who feels their child may become homeless by this definition due to substance or spousal abuse in the family, divorce, lost employment, or any other reason should also contact the school’s counselor.

You can also check the building’s parent/student handbook for a more extensive definition of homeless and benefits that apply. The school district homeless liaison is Dave Hopf. For more information, please call (360) 864-4761.