Disaster Parent Certification Form fillable
LEA Displaced Students Spreadsheet
Good afternoon Homeless Liaisons,
As central Mississippi prepares for possible flooding, please note that under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, children and youth who are displaced by natural disasters meet the definition of homeless and are therefore eligible for McKinney-Vento services.
For this reason, we are asking that districts receiving students due to the recent flooding or impending natural disasters:
- Immediately enroll these students as homeless, regardless of access to birth certificates, vaccination records and other documents.
- Complete the same homeless documentation that would otherwise be required for a student who is homeless. As part of this documentation, it should be noted that the child has evacuated due to a natural disaster. This will assist both school districts and MDE in efforts to explain any significant increases in the homeless population.
- Additional sample documents have been attached to support your work as you enroll displaced students and gather needed documentation.
Please see the attached email sent to Child Nutrition Directors regarding providing meals for displaced students.
If you have questions about how to effectively identify, enroll or serve students who are homeless, please contact the Mississippi Department of Education’s State Homeless Coordinator, LaDewayne Harris. He can be reached at 601-359-3499 or by emailing laharris@mdek12.org.
Thank you,
QUENTIN RANSBURG, Executive Director
Office of Federal Programs