Homeless Status
Data Collection and Reporting

2007-08 and Beyond

"Homeless Status" is an indication of whether a student is homeless. "Homeless" students lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and include students who

1. 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 adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
2. 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 (within the meaning of section 103(a)(2)(C));
3. are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
4. are migratory and are living in circumstances described in (1) through (3) above.

For more information about "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence" see (see Answer 5 below). The definition of "Homeless Status" provided above is based on Section 725 (2) of McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001' (42 U.S.C. 11435(2)). Students who meet the McKinney-Vento definition should be coded Y. Those who do not should be coded N.

CHANGES: This data element is first required for 2007-08 ISES Count Date Records and 2007-08 ISES Year End Records.

USES: "Homeless Status" will be used to meet disaggregated data requirements of the US Department of Education (under EDEN). At a minimum, disaggregated enrollment, dropout, graduation, and assessment data will be provided. The primary purpose of the data will be to determine the status of the education of homeless students in general and to evaluate the effectiveness of programs supported by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001 (under NCLB Title X, Part C). This data element is required for all students in all ISES records regardless of whether or not the district receives McKinney-Vento grant funds.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT HOMELESS STATUS

1. Questions about Homeless Status for ISES purposes should be answered based on this Webpage and definitions provided by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001. Please contact your District Homeless Liaison for clarification or further guidance before entering a student as "Homeless" in ISES. A list of District Homeless Liaisons is linked to
   Education of Homeless Children and Youth in Wisconsin upper right hand corner, under "RELATED LINKS."
2. For ISES year end records, if a student is homeless at any point during his or her school term X enrollment period at School A, then the student should be submitted as Homeless for that school enrollment period at School A.
3. For ISES count date records, if a student is enrolled at School A on the count date for school term X, then consider the student's school term X enrollment period at School A up to and including the count date. If a student is homeless at any point during this time period, then the student should be submitted as Homeless for School A.
4. During each school term, each school enrollment period should be considered separately for purposes of submitting a student's Homeless Status to DPI. Note that if a student in school A is homeless at any point during school term X, continues at school A for school term X+1, but is not ever homeless during school term X+1, then the student is counted as homeless in school A during school term X and is not counted as homeless in school A during school term X+1.
5. When DPI submits district level homeless data to the US Department of Education, all ISES Year End records for every school in the district will be considered, and counts will be cumulative and unduplicated across the district. In other words, if during the school term a student transfers within the district from School A to School B to School C, and if the student was Homeless while enrolled in School A and School B, but not Homeless while enrolled in School C, then the student will be counted once as Homeless on district level reports. (The student will also be counted as Homeless on school level reports for School A and School B if school level reports are required.)
6. See Migrant Status Data Collection and Reporting for more information about determining whether a student is migratory. This term is defined by section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
7. According to McKinney-Vento, a fixed residence is one that is stationary, permanent, and not subject to change. A regular residence is one which is used on a regular (i.e., nightly) basis. An adequate residence is one that is sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in home environments. Therefore, children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence will be considered Homeless.
8. Some examples of situations that occur and that may or may not result in homeless status are provided below:
   • Home destroyed by fire. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act applies to families and unaccompanied youth who cannot afford housing on their own. While a student may have lost his or her home due to a fire, the student would not be considered homeless if the family can afford (insurance, wages, savings, etc) to pay for alternative shelter such as in a motel/hotel or apartment.
   • Home destroyed by a natural disaster. In national emergency situations such as Hurricane Katrina, usually all families fleeing the affected area are initially considered homeless until the family can stabilize their living situation. Homeless status would need to be determined on a case-by-case basis and be reevaluated over time.
   • Temporary student placements due to death of parents/guardians, foster care placements, and other county child welfare issues. If a social service agency places a child with grandparents, relatives, or a guardian on a temporary basis while a permanent placement decision is pending, the temporary placement is considered a homeless situation under McKinney-Vento. Once a permanent placement decision is made and the grandparent, relative, or guardian becomes the child's legal guardian, the child is no longer considered homeless.
9. If this field is null in ISES, then ISES inserts an 'N.'

See also:

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (text version)
Education of Homeless Children and Youth in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Homeless Data Reports
EDEN Requirements

Last updated on 6/21/2011 9:40:39 AM