Q. II.1 Can a youth residing at a runaway program
continue to go to his/her own school if that school
is not in the same district as the shelter?
(a) Who pays for transportation for the youth?
(b) Is there a different set of regulations for youth
placed in a Host Home?
Q. II.2 At
what age can a young person leave school? Until what
age can a young person stay in school?
Q. II.3 What
happens if a school kicks a young person out?
Q. II.4 Who is
responsible for the enrollment and/or transportation
of a runaway or homeless youth in a Special Education
Program or any specialized program within the school?
Q. II.5 Does a
young person have a right to see his/her academic
records? What can be done if the record contains
errors?
Q. II.6 What
type of documentation does a child need to enroll in
school?
Q. II.7 Can a
youth attend a school in a district outside the
district where he/she lives (or temporarily lives, in
the case of a runaway/homeless youth)?
Q. II.1 Can a
youth residing at a runaway program continue to go to
his/her own school if that school is not in the same
district as the shelter?
(a) Who pays for transportation for the youth?
(b) Is there a different set of regulations for youth
placed in a Host Home?
A. Any young
person residing at a certified runaway/homeless youth
program (shelter or host home) may choose to continue
to attend his/her own school as long as the shelter
coordinator agrees and signs the State Education
Designation Form to that effect. A homeless youth,
even if not residing in a certified shelter, has the
same rights and can choose whether to attend the
school where he/she is located or the school he/she
previously attended as long as the school is within
50 miles of the student's current location. The
certified program is responsible for arranging
transportation for the young people in their care who
elect to return to their district of origin. Homeless
youth on their own are entitled to receive
transportation from whichever school district they
choose to attend (either the district of origin or
district of current location).
(a) In the
case of certified runaway/homeless youth programs,
the program is responsible for arranging
transportation and the State Education Department
must reimburse the program for the cost of
transportation if the young person opts to attend
his/her home school district and the shelter is
located outside the boundaries of the child's
district of origin. If the youth chooses to attend
school in the same district as the certified program,
the local school district is directly responsible for
transportation. In the event the Legislature does not
appropriate adequate funds for the transportation of
runaway/homeless youth housed in a certified shelter,
the school district of origin would be responsible
for transportation if the young person chooses to
continue to attend school in that district.
(b) Host
Homes, also known as Voluntary Foster Homes (VIFS)
are certified residential programs and the same rules
apply.
Q. II.2 At
what age can a young person leave school? Until what
age can a young person stay in school?
A. With
the exception of New York City, a youth may drop
out of school at the end of the school year in
which he/she turns 16. In New York City, a youth
can drop out at the end of the school year in
which he/she turns 17. In New York State, the
school year runs from July 1 to June 30.
Therefore, a student who turns 16 on July 1 must
remain in school until the end of the next school
year, while a student who turns 16 on June 30 may
drop out at any time thereafter.
All youth between the ages of 5 and 21 are
entitled to a free public education. Even if a
young person has a GED, but wishes to go back to
school to get a high school diploma, he/she must
be allowed to re-enroll and work toward a high
school diploma until the age of 21.
Q. II.3 What
happens if a public school kicks a young person out?
A. A
public school cannot simply deny a young person
the right to a public education without following
the proper procedures. A student may be suspended
from school for insubordination, disorderly
conduct, or conduct that endangers the safety,
welfare or morals of self or others. If the
student is under 16 (or 17 in New York City), the
district is required to arrange immediately for
alternative instruction, or if the student is
disabled or suspected of having a disability, the
district must continue to provide the student a
free appropriate public education. In the case of
a suspension for less than 5 days, the student
and his/her parents are entitled to written
notice of the right to request an informal
conference with the principal and the right to
question complaining witnesses. In the case of a
suspension over five days, the student is
entitled to a formal hearing before the school
superintendent or his/her designee.
Q. II.4 Who is
responsible for the enrollment and/or transportation
of a runaway or homeless youth in a Special Education
Program or any specialized program within the school?
A.
According to Education Law 3209 (2)(e) and (f)
school districts are required to:
- Admit
every homeless child upon receipt of a
designation form;
- Make
a written request to the school district
where the child's records are located for
a copy of those records which the
district must forward to them within five
days of the receipt of the request,
including, but not limited to, proof of
age, academic records, evaluations,
immunization records and guardianship
papers, where applicable;
- Provide
homeless children and youth full access
to all of the programs, activities and
services of the district to the same
extent they are available to resident
children and youth.
A
runaway/homeless youth who was receiving special
education in his/her former school is entitled to
receive the same services in the new district at
least until the Committee on Special Education
(CSE) meets and recommends a different program.
In such cases, if there is a disagreement and the
parent (or pupil, if emancipated or over 18)
requests an impartial hearing, the student would
remain in the program he attended before the CSE
recommended a change.
Once a
designation form is completed for the student to
enroll in a new school, the school district
selected must enroll the student. When a student
is receiving special education at a site other
than the public school (such as BOCES or a
private school) it may be wise to designate the
original school to ensure that the pupil
continues to receive the same program.
If the
school district of origin is selected, the
runaway/homeless youth program is responsible for
the pupil's transportation to and from the
special education program. (The program would be
eligible for reimbursement for transportation
costs). If the district where the shelter is
located is designated, that district is
responsible for providing the student's
transportation to the same extent it must provide
transportation to other students.
Q. II.5
Does a young person have a right to see his/her
academic records? What can be done if the record
contains errors?
A. A
student who is 18 and older can see his/her
school records except those that belong to a
teacher, involve school security, contain
psychiatric or treatment records, certain letters
of recommendation and/or records regarding the
student while that student was not enrolled in
the school. For students under 18, the parent has
the right to see the student's records to the
same extent as the student who is 18 and older.
If there
are no guidelines in the Student Handbook on how
to access your school records, a request to
review them can be made by a parent or legal
guardian for a youth under the age of 18, or by
the youth if he/she is 18 or older.
The school has 45 days to comply with the request
and may chargeup to 25 cents per page if records
need to be copied, as long as it would not deny
the parent/student access to such records. If the
records involve a student receiving special
education, all records must be made available to
the parent/student (as applicable) upon request.
Young persons or parents who believe there is
erroneous information in the records, he/she
and/or the parent or legal guardian may ask to
have it removed. If the school does not agree, a
hearing can be requested. If the information is
not removed following the hearing, the youth
and/or the parent or legal guardian (as
applicable) has the right to submit a written
statement that becomes part of the record as
well.
Q. II.6 What
type of documentation does a child need to enroll in
school?
A. An
applicant must present proof of age (a birth
certificate, baptismal record), a copy of his/her
immunization record and provide proof of
residency in the district. For a young person in
a shelter, a designation form (as discussed in
II.4) serves to establish eligibility in lieu of
residency. Normally, a student has 14 days from
the date of enrollment to present immunization
records.
Q. II.7 Can a
youth attend a school in a district outside the
district where he/she lives (or temporarily lives, in
the case of a runaway/homeless youth)?
A.
Homeless children or youth living in a temporary
shelter have the right to attend the school
district he/she attended prior to becoming
homeless or living in a temporary shelter [see Q.
II.1].
For young
people who are not homeless, there are some
schools that offer the opportunity for students
to attend a public school outside their district
with the payment of tuition. For children with
special needs, if the school district where they
reside is unable to provide them an appropriate
education, they may recommend a school outside
the district. In cases where a district fails to
offer an appropriate placement to a child with a
disability, a parent may place a child directly
and seek reimbursement from the district at an
impartial hearing.
