Homeless Education

Noble Public Schools · Federal Programs

School Enrollment and Support When Housing Is Unstable

If your family has lost its housing, your child can enroll in school today — without a lease, a utility bill, a birth certificate, school records or shot records. This is federal law, it applies at every Noble school, and it applies to a teenager living on their own.

Does This Apply to Us?

Federal law calls this "lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence." In practice it covers a lot more families than people expect. It applies if your child is:

• Staying with someone else — family, friends, anyone — because you lost housing, because of money, or for a similar reason. This is the most common situation and the one families most often assume does not count. It does.
• Living in a motel, hotel, trailer park or campground because there is nowhere else adequate to go.
• Living in an emergency or transitional shelter
• Living in substandard housing — no running water, no heat, unsafe structure.
• Living in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, or bus or train station
• Sleeping somewhere not meant for people to sleep
• Abandoned in a hospital
• A migratory child living in any of the situations above.
• A young person living apart from a parent or guardian in any of these situations — see below.

What to Do Right Now

1. Go to the school and say you need to enroll

   Any Noble school, or the Enrollment Center at 401 E. Cherry St. Tell them your family's housing situation. You do not need to explain more than that.

2. Your child starts school — that day, or the next

   Enrollment cannot be delayed because you do not have the usual paperwork, and it cannot be delayed because you missed an enrollment deadline while you were losing your housing. The school contacts your child's previous school for records. It is the school's job to chase the paperwork, not yours.

3. Ask about staying at the same school

   If you have moved but want your child to finish at the school they already attend, say so. See "school of origin" below.

4. Call the district liaison

   Kim Vance can arrange transportation, chase immunization records, connect you to local help, and answer questions the school office cannot. Contact information is at the bottom of this page.

Your Child's Rights

Students Living on Their Own

A young person who is not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian is called an "unaccompanied youth," and has these rights directly. You do not need an adult to do any of this for you.

• You can enroll yourself. You do not need a parent, a guardian, or a guardianship document.
• You can request transportation to the school you already attend, through the district liaison.
• You can dispute a decision yourself, and stay enrolled while it is being decided.
• You count as an independent student for federal financial aid. That usually means your FAFSA does not require a parent's income. The district liaison can give you the written verification of your status that the FAFSA asks for. Seniors: start this conversation early, not in April.
• Oklahoma will issue you a free state ID. The Homeless Youth Identification Program provides a free state identification card to qualifying youth up to age 21, and a school liaison can provide the notarized eligibility letter. See Service Oklahoma.

Who Finds Out

If You Disagree With a Decision

1. Say so — to the school or to the liaison

   Disputes can be about whether your family qualifies, which school your child attends, or enrollment itself.

2. Your child stays enrolled while it is decided

   In the school you asked for, attending class, through every level of appeal. This is not discretionary.

3. You get the decision in writing

   Including the reasons and how to appeal, in a form you can understand.

4. The liaison carries out the dispute process

   As quickly as possible after being told about it.

5. You can take it to the state

   If you disagree with the district's final decision, the Oklahoma State Department of Education's Office of Title Services can be contacted at (405) 521-6850 or Federal.Programs@sde.ok.gov.

Local Help

Noble Public Schools does not operate these organizations and does not endorse any of them. They are listed because Noble families use them. Call ahead to confirm hours and eligibility.

Noble's Homeless Education Liaison

State and National Resources

• Oklahoma State Department of Education — Title IX, Part A (McKinney-Vento) State program office. Tammy Smith is the state Homeless Education Coordinator, tammy.smith@sde.ok.gov; Office of Title Services, (405) 521-6850.
• National Center for Homeless Education Helpline (305) 306-8495 or NCHE.helpline@safalpartners.com, weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern. Not a crisis line.
• SchoolHouse Connection Plain-language explanations of these rights, and scholarship information for students who have experienced homelessness.
• School Stability for Students in Foster Care Students in state custody are covered by a different federal law — foster care is not the same as homelessness under McKinney-Vento.
• Federal Programs · Enrollment · Mental Health Resources