If your family lives in any of the following situations:

• In a shelter, motel, vehicle, campground or on the street
• In an abandoned building, trailer or other inadequate accommodations, or
• Doubled up with friends or relatives because you cannot find or afford housing

Then, your preschool-aged and school-aged children have certain rights or protections under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act.

Your child(ren) has the right to:

• Go to school, no matter where you live or how long you have lived there;
• Stay in the school that he or she was attending before becoming homeless or the school he or she last attended, if that is your choice and it is feasible;
• Enroll in school immediately, even if you do not have all the paperwork, such as your child’s school or medical records;
• Access the same special programs and services that are provided to other children, including special education, migrant education and vocational education;
• Receive the same public education that is provided to other children, including preschool. (Your child cannot be separated from the mainstream school environment because he or she is homeless. He or she cannot be segregated in a separate school, separate programs within a school or separate settings within a school).

For further information contact Student Services at (440) 885-8794.

Useful resources:
www.ode.state.oh.us  Keyword: Homeless Students
Parma City School Board Policy - Homeless Students