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The Fresno Unified Governing Board believes that all children should have the opportunity to receive appropriate educational services. All children residing within the district shall have immediate access to district schools and services. Children identified as homeless under the Federal McKinney-Vento Act have educational rights.
Children living in foster care receive similar rights as identified homeless students, under State Law, AB490 because they are at high risk for academic failure as well. Homeless children and children living in foster care shall be admitted with or without a permanent address. When feasible, they shall retain the "school of origin" for the remainder of the school year. School of origin means the school that the child or youth attended when permanently housed, or the school in which the child or youth was last enrolled. Staff shall encourage parents/guardians to enroll all school-aged children in school. - Fresno Board Policy 5111.13 & 6173 
Overview
How Do We Define Homelessness?
The Federal McKinney-Vento Act defines homelessness as "lacking a fixed, regular, stable, and adequate nighttime residence”
It Includes:
- Runaways
- Families Living in motels or hotels
- Families temporarily doubled up or tripled up
- Those who live in cars, on the streets, in shelters or in areas not usually considered fit for habitation
- Students awaiting foster care placement
- Migrant students only IF their housing fits the definition of “homeless”
What Are My Child's Rights?
- A free, appropriate, public school education Brochure (pdf)
- Enroll without a permanent address or school records. Project ACCESS form completed at Department of Prevention and Intervention.
- Enroll a child for whom I am not the legal guardian under a caregiver's affidavit. (Caregiver affidavit completed at Department of Prevention and Intervention.)
- Enroll without the normal documents needed for school enrollment
- Maintain original school of enrollment using bus tickets provided through Prevention and
Intervention (457-3351)
How are Homeless and Foster Care Students Identified and Tracked in Fresno Unified? (i.e. What Are The Baseline Services?)
FUSD Department of Prevention and Intervention codes identified students on the District Mainframe Computer using a letter code for homeless students and a numerical code for foster care students
Confidential school lists of homeless students are available on the District’s Mainframe computer system, both on the DIG screen and on the DIS intranet screen.
Schools can ask for additions or deletions from the identification list. The FUSD Department of Prevention and Intervention contact is: Mary Redondo for bus tickets or the Project ACCESS office at 457-3359.
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