Diboll ISD

Program Description

Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized by Title X, Part C, of the No Child Left Behind Act, ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness. As the District’s McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison, I am responsible for ensuring the identification, school enrollment, attendance, and opportunities for academic success of students in homeless situations. Diboll uses a district wide Student Resident Questionnaire (SRQ) form to help identify displaced or homeless situations, unaccompanied youth, and students not living with legal guardians. At the beginning of each school year, each student is required to complete a SRQ. The SRQ is also required for new students enrolling into the district. This helps identify, coordinate referrals and provide possible assistance.

McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison
Shawna Neal, M.A., LPC
215 Temple Dr.
Diboll, Texas 75941
sneal@dibollisd.org
936.829.5072

McKinney-Vento-Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth (TEHCY) Program

The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless as children lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate resident. If any one of the three conditions is missing, the child is considered homeless.

-Fixed: Stationary, permanent, not subject to change

-Regular: Used on a regular (nightly) basis

-Adequate: Sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in home environments

The McKinney-Vento Act provides rights and services to children and youth experiencing homelessness...

This includes those who are:

-Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason

-Staying in motels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to lack of an adequate alternative

-Staying in shelters or transitional housing; or sleeping in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, or similar settings.

Students experiencing homelessness have rights and services including:

-Enrollment: the right to immediate enrollment even if documents normally required are not available

-School of Origin: the right to attend the school where the child or youth was permanently housed or the last school enrolled

-Transportation: the right to receive transportation to and from their school of origin, including all feeder schools to the school of origin

-Educational Stability: the right to have full and equal educational opportunity to meet the academic and state achievement requirements as their non-homeless peers

-Educational Services: the right to receive educational services for which the student is eligible including preschool programs

-Parent Engagement: the right for parents to be informed of educational opportunities and participate through meaningful engagement in the education of their child or youth