Homeless Students Resources and Information

The coordinator for identification of homeless children and for tracking and monitoring programs is:

Jenna Haglund

jhaglun@charles-city.k12.ia.us

Charles City Middle School

1200 1st Ave

Charles City, Iowa 50616

641-257.6531 

Definition and Rights of Homeless Students (McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act) are as follows:

A homeless individual includes an individual who:

  • Lacks a fixed, regular, adequate nighttime residence or
  • Has a primary residence that is
    • A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill);
    • An institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or
    • A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings

A homeless child, according to Chapter 33, Educating the Homeless, Iowa Administrative Code

of school age includes a child between the ages of 5 and 21 who:

  • Lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence;
  • Is living in a car, tent, abandoned building or some other form of shelter not defined as a permanent home;
  • Is living with non-nuclear family members or with friends (includes doubled-up families).

Services

Federal law entitles each homeless child or youth to be assisted and provided services offered to other students in the school, including the following:

  • Go to school, no matter where they live or how long they have lived there.
  • Attend either the local school or the school of origin, if this is in their best interest;
  • The school of origin is the school the child attended when he/she was permanently housed or the school in which the child was last enrolled.
  • Receive transportation to and from the school of origin.
  • Enroll in school immediately, even if missing records and documents normally required for enrollment, such as a birth certificate, proof of residence, previous school records, or immunization/medical records.
  • Enroll, attend classes, and participate fully in all school activities while the school gathers records.
  • Have access to the same programs and services that are available to all other students, including transportation and supplemental educational services.
  • Attend school with children not experiencing homelessness; a school can not segregate a student because he or she is homeless.

If you have any questions about homeless services in Charles City, please contact the district homeless coordinator, Jenna Haglund  at

The following resources may also be helpful: