Homeless Contact

Homeless Liaison
Alan Kosinski, Director of Student Services
P.O. Box 38 Nashville, Indiana 47448

Brown County Schools Homeless Plan

MISSION STATEMENT:
Brown County Schools is committed to creating equal educational opportunities for all children. The district strives to ensure that homeless children and youth have access to a free, appropriate public education that is comparable to that provided to the children of any Indiana resident and consistent with Indiana's mandatory school attendance laws.

GOAL:
All children and youth experiencing homelessness will be immediately enrolled in school based on availability and will have educational opportunities equal to those of their non-homeless peers. Homeless students will not be stigmatized or segregated on the basis of their status as homeless.

LEGAL BACKGROUND:
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431 et. seq.) which is included in No Child Left Behind as Title X-C.

CONTACT:
The Homeless Children and Youth Liaison is Alan Kosinski and he can be contacted at 988-6601 or akosinsk@brownco.k12.in.us.

Homeless Children and Youth

DEFINITIONS:

The term "homeless student" means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes:

Students who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative, adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;

Students who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;

Students who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and migratory students who qualify as homeless because the children are living in circumstances described above.

The term school or origin' means the school that the student attended when permanently housed or the school in which the student was last enrolled.

The term unaccompanied youth' includes a youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.


LIAISON FOR HOMELESS STUDENTS:

The Homeless Liaison will coordinate activities and programs in the best interest of homeless students that will include but not be limited to establishment procedures to:

Continue the student's education in the school of origin for the duration of homelessness; in any case in which a family becomes homeless between academic years or during an academic year; or for the remainder of the academic year, if the student becomes permanently housed during an academic year

Enroll the student in any public school that non-homeless students who live in the attendance area in which the student is actually living are eligible to attend;

Coordinate and inform parents of transportation to and from the school, if feasible, using the school transportation system.

Ensure that all staff are trained regarding homelessness.

Ensure that enrollment disputes are mediated in accordance with the law.

Inform parents and guardians of educational and related opportunities available to their children.