Serving the Educational Needs of Homeless Children by Bonnie Gregg
Portland Public Schools, founded in 1851, is a PK-12 urban school district in Portland, Oregon. With more than 49,000 students in 81 schools, it is one of the largest school districts in the Pacific Northwest, with ethnic diversity including Asian: 6.2%, Black: 8.6%, Hispanic/Latino: 16.6%, Native American/Alaskan Native: 0.5% www.pps.net/domain/265. Portland Public Schools currently has 1,447 students identified as “Homeless”.
Attending school is a pivotal experience for every child, the opportunity to see beyond the boundaries of his/her family’s life, to learn about the world and to acquire the skills and knowledge to flourish in that world. However, for children constantly on the move, couch surfing, living in cars, campsites, shelters, or on the street, etc. the prospect of attending school may be exciting but intimidating as well. Their parents must be actively involved finding them clothes and school supplies at donation centers and making the arrangements for their actual attendance at school, not the easiest of tasks for those whose daily struggle is trying to find a safe place to sleep.
Fortunately, Portland Public Schools is committed to serving “homeless children” with a free appropriate public education in the same manner as all other students of the District. To that end, school policy dictates that “homeless students will not be stigmatized or segregated on the basis of their status as homeless. The District shall establish safeguards that protect homeless students from discrimination on the basis of their homelessness.” Homeless children and youth are defined as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and include children and youth who meet any of the following criteria:
share the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship,
live in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to a lack of alternative adequate accommodations
live in emergency or transitional shelters,
are abandoned in hospitals,
have a primary night time residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings,
or live in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, substandard housing1, bus or train station, or similar setting
The District provides services to homeless students that are comparable to other students in the District, including transportation services, and public preschool programs and other educational programs and services for which the homeless student meets eligibility criteria including:
programs for children with disabilities,
programs for English Learners (students with Limited English Proficiency);
programs in career and technical education;
programs for gifted and talented;
school nutrition programs;
before and after school programs.
For more information consult: Homeless Students - Portland Public Schools (portlandk12.org)