Pennsylvania School Tries To Kick Out Two Students After Their Families Became Homeless

It's remarkable how many educators lack empathy or attachment for the kids they are paid to care for.

Pennsylvania School Tries To Kick Out Two Students After Their Families Became Homeless
By Scott Keyes
ThinkProgress
December 16, 2013

As if their lives hadn’t been thrown into enough turmoil when their house was foreclosed on and their family became homeless, two Pennsylvania students learned last Monday that they were no longer welcome at the school they had attended their entire lives because the campground they were living in was located just outside of town.

The two students, one eighth-grader and one twelfth-grader whose names are withheld because they are minors, have lived in a camper with their parents in eastern Pennsylvania since losing their home to foreclosure in 2011. The campground where they were able to find refuge is located just outside the school district’s boundaries.

That shouldn’t be a problem under federal law, which allows homeless students to remain enrolled in the school they attend, even if extenuating circumstances forced them to live outside of the limits. Indeed, for more than two years, the two students were allowed to continue their education at the Easton Area School District, giving them stability in an otherwise-tumultuous situation.

However, according to the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania, an education nonprofit that filed a lawsuit on behalf of the students, they were kicked out of school without explanation last week. Easton Schools Solicitor John Freund wrote in an email to The Express-Times that they had “made a studied determination that this family, living outside the boundaries of the district, no longer qualified as homeless for the purpose of free public education in Easton.”

The matter went to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which issued a preliminary ruling on Thursday to immediately re-enroll the students, pending the outcome of the suit.

Though Easton doesn’t believe the students are homeless enough to qualify under federal law, it’s important to note that most homeless people don’t sleep on the streets per se. Few would consider the 24-foot-by-7-foot camper where the four-person family resides to be a permanent housing situation, but that’s precisely what school district is arguing.

Because of the court’s ruling, the students will be able to continue attending classes at Easton — for now — but their enrollment status remains in limbo.

Unfortunately, their experience is not atypical. Overall, the number of homeless students in the United States hit a record high during the 2011-12 school year, with more than 1.1 million homeless students enrolled in preschool or K-12, a 10 percent increase from the previous year.

In an effort to address the systemic challenges facing these students, a trio of senators introduced a bill last month to help homeless and foster youth overcome barriers that prevent many from going on to college.

Feeding homeless teenagers in Vista Unified

VISTA: Group starts effort to feed homeless teens
DON BOOMER
nctimes.com
Aug. 26, 2012

Volunteers Alex Gamble and Donna Harden stock the shelves in the Vista Teen Outreach's food pantry at Alta Vista High School on Wednesday. The program aims to help feed poor and homeless teens, and donations can be made at Kings Stationers, Sport About, the Vista Chamber of Commerce and all Vista fire stations. The food pantry is the first of several they expect to set up at middle and high schools in the Vista Unified School District.

A group of Vista residents has come together to help feed homeless teenagers in the city.

The dozen or so volunteers started collecting food in November for the effort, which they're calling Hunger Hurts.

Last week, they started distributing the food in a food pantry they created at Alta Vista High School.

Eventually, they plan to have food, clothing and toiletries available at all Vista Unified School District's middle and high schools, said Debbie Medrano, one of the organizers.

Denise Gamble came up with the idea after hearing about the need from customers of her store, Sport About.

"Coaches were telling me that one of their biggest concerns was trying to get food in the kids before they leave school," Gamble said. "I was just kind of blown away by that."

About 2,700 of the more than 22,000 students in the school district are classified as homeless, district officials have said.

The increase is the result of higher unemployment and more rigorous efforts to identify such students, they said.

Homeless, as defined by the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, doesn't just mean students living on the streets, but anybody who lacks "a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence." That would include families who are bunking with relatives or living in trailers.

"We're just trying to show the kids that people out here care and we want them to have a great life," Gamble said. "They're our future."

The volunteers wanted to focus on older kids because they thought there were other programs that collected food for younger children, she said.

The older students "want to go to be normal, and a lot of them are worried about what they're going to eat, if anything," she said.

Originally, the group wanted to start with community barbecues to help feed the needy. However, the volunteers have since decided to start with food banks at schools.

They have also donated some of the food collected to North County Lifeline.

Those with food, clothing or toiletries to donate can drop them off at King's North County Stationers, 1688 S. Melrose Drive, or Sport About, 1310 E. Vista Way.