Enrollment If Homeless

It is District 401's policy that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth shall have equal access to the same free, appropriate public education as provided to other children and youths, including a public preschool education.

A homeless child may attend the District 401 school that the child attended when permanently housed or in which the child was last enrolled. A homeless child living in any District 401 school’s attendance area may attend that school.

A "homeless child" is defined as provided in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento) and the Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act (IEHCA).

As defined by Section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Act, the term "homeless children and youth" means individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, including individuals in the following circumstances:

• 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; or are awaiting foster care placement.
• Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (within the meaning of Section 103(a)(2)(C) of the statute).
• Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations or similar settings.
• Migratory children (as defined in Section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) who qualify as homeless because the children are living in circumstances described in the three previous clauses.

As provided in the Illinois Education for Homeless Children Act (105 ILCS 45/1-5), a homeless person, child or youth includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• An individual who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime place of abode, or …
• An individual who has a primary nighttime place of abode that is:

— A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters and transitional housing);

— An institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or …

— A public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

District 401's liaison for homeless children is Ms. Stephanie Daly, Director for Student Services.

If you have questions about enrolling a homeless child in District 401, please use the following contact information:

Ms. Stephanie Daly
Director for Student Services
Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401
708-583-5836
dalys@epcusd401.org