Homeless Education
Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness
Homeless Education Program Information
The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvement Act and Texas State Law protect the rights of homeless children and youth.
The Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District assures that children and youth who are experiencing homelessness and living within the district have access to the same free, appropriate public education and related services provided for all children and youth. The District Liaison for the Homeless Education Program is Claudia Medina-Garcia- Family Engagement & Community Specialist.
Family Engagement Department
Contact Info: (956) 254-5091
Who is homeless?
The term “homeless children and youth” – (A) means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence…; and (B) includes – (i) children and youths 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 accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement; (ii) children and youths 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 … (iii) children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and (iv) migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).
Services available to childtren and youth experiencing homelessness: transportation, school supplies and glasses/emergency medical or dental services.
Resources
THEO (Texas Homeless Education Office) - UT Dana Center