Who is Homeless?

Individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including 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 adequate accommodations
• are living in emergency or transitional shelters
• are abandoned in hospitals
• have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodation for human beings
• are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings
• migratory children living in the circumstances previously described

Homeless Children and Youth are guaranteed the following:

• The right to immediate enrollment in school, even if lacking paperwork normally required for enrollment.
• The right to attend school in his/her school of origin (if this is requested by the parent and is feasible) or in the school in the attendance area where the family or youth is currently residing.
• Automatic eligibility for any nutrition services available at the school.
• The right to receive transportation to his/her school of origin, if this is requested by the parent and is feasible.
• The right to services comparable to those received by housed schoolmates, including transportation and supplemental educational services.
• The right to attend school along with children not experiencing homelessness. Segregation based on a student's status as homeless is strictly prohibited.
• The posting of homeless students' rights in all schools and other places around the community.

TEA has released guidance on Engaging Highly Mobile and At-Risk Students for the 2020-2021 school year. The guide includes information regarding:

• Utilizing District Reporting and Data for Strategic Planning
• Mitigating Transitional Barriers to Support Academic Achievement
• Uncontactable Students | Drop-Out Prevention and Invention
• Student Support Teams
• Home Visit Safety Procedures and Protocols
• Innovative Outreach Efforts
• Establishing Protocols for Concerns
• Effective Practices to Support Student Basic Needs

Click here to download the SY 2020-2021 Engaging Highly Mobile and At-Risk Guide.

• 211 Texas
• Aunt Bertha
• Texas Workforce Commission
• Goodwill North Texas Institute for Career Training and Services
• Mental Health TX.org
• MHMR of Tarrant County
• Tarrant County Homeless Coalition
• MHMR of Denton County
• Pecan Valley Centers (Counties served: Earth, Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Parker, and Somervell)