The Superintendent shall designate a district employee to serve as its liaison to serve homeless students in accordance with the following provisions. The liaison for homeless students designated by the Superintendent shall ensure that:
- All homeless students are identified by school personnel through outreach and coordination activities with other entities and agencies;
- All homeless students are enrolled in, and have a full and equal opportunity to succeed the same as non-homeless students of the District;
- Homeless families and homeless students have access to and receive educational services for which such families and students are eligible, including services through Head Start programs (including Early Head Start programs), early intervention services under part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and other preschool programs administered by the District;
- All homeless families and homeless students receive referrals to health care services, dental services, mental health and substance abuse services, housing services, and other appropriate services;
- The parents or guardians of homeless students are informed of the educational and related opportunities available to their children and are provided with meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children;
- Public notice of the educational rights of homeless students is disseminated in locations frequented by parents or guardians of such students, and unaccompanied students, including schools, shelters, public libraries, and soup kitchens, in a manner and form understandable to the parents and guardians of homeless students, and unaccompanied students;
- Enrollment disputes are mediated in accordance with Board Policy 5173.20;
- The parent or guardian of a homeless student, and any unaccompanied student, is fully informed of all transportation services, including transportation to the student’s school of origin, and is assisted in accessing transportation to the student’s assigned school;
- School personnel providing services to homeless students receive professional development and other support; and
- Unaccompanied homeless students:
- Are enrolled in school;
- Have opportunities to meet the same challenging state academic standards as the State establishes for other students; and
- Are informed of their status as independent students under 20 USC § 1087vv(d), and that such students may obtain assistance from the District Liaison to obtain verification of such status for the purposes of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
The District's Liaison for homeless students shall, as a part of his/her duties, coordinate and collaborate with the Idaho State Office of the Coordinator of Education of Homeless Children and Youths, as well as with community and school personnel who are responsible for the provision of education and related services to homeless students. Such coordination shall include collecting and providing to the State Coordinator, the reliable, valid, and comprehensive data needed to meet the requirements of 42 USC § 11432(f)(1) and (3).
The District's Liaison who receives training provided by the Idaho State Office of the Coordinator for Education of Homeless Children and Youths may authorize a homeless student who is eligible for and participation in a program provided by the District, or the immediate family of such student, who otherwise meets the eligibility requirements of Federal Housing Assistance (see 42 USC §§ 11360 et. seq), to do so without approval or other agency action by or on behalf of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.