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Community & Student Services

Homeless Services
 
Russell “Rooster” Valentini
Allentown School District’s Homeless Liaison
484-765-4037
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act of 1987 was reauthorized under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Students experiencing homelessness are entitled under law to:
  • An education on an equal basis with other children;
  • Continue to attend their home school of origin
  • Immediate enrollment, even if they lack records
  • Special assistance from the Allentown School District Homeless Liaison
Purpose

Allentown School District’s Homeless Children and Youth Initiative identifies students experiencing homelessness, and implements strategies to address barriers to enrollment, attendance, and participation in school activities.
Note: If a student is in a temporary living situation, he/she may be able to remain in his/her current school. Talk with ASD resources before disenrolling.

Who are the Homeless?
 
Homeless children may be found in the following places: 
  • Public or private shelters; 
  • Public or private places not designated for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations, such as vehicles, parks, motels, campgrounds, etc.; 
  • With a parent in a domestic violence shelter; 
  • With relatives or friends due to lack of housing; 
  • In transitional housing programs;
  • In a temporary living situation due to an event such as fire, domestic violence, eviction or code violations;
 
Those also considered homeless are:
  • Runaway children (under 18 years of age) and children/youth who have been abandoned or forced out of home by parents or other caretakers. They may be in temporary shelters awaiting assistance from social service agencies,  or may live alone on the street or move from place to place among family members, friends or acquaintances. This also includes youth from 18 through 21 years of age who may still be eligible for educational services in regular or special education; 
  • Children of migrant families who lack adequate housing; 
  • Children abandoned in hospitals or awaiting foster care; 
  • School age, unwed or expectant mothers living in houses for unwed mothers when they have no other available living accommodations.