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Recently Asked Questions and Answers on Displaced Immigrant Families and Education
Strategies for Supporting Immigrant and Migrant Students Experiencing Homelessness
Immigrant Students Experiencing Homelessness: Liaisons’ Strategies
Immigrant Students: How Schools Can Help
Other National Resources
Prek-12
Resources to Support Immigrant and Migrant Students Experiencing Homelessness
Welcome to SchoolHouse Connection’s Immigration and Homelessness Resource Page.
Many students and families arrive in the U.S. from other countries without safe, stable housing, and experience homelessness and high mobility that can last for months. At SchoolHouse Connection, we recognize the crucial role that schools can play in providing stability and support to mitigate the disruption and trauma caused by homelessness. This page is dedicated to providing educators, policymakers, and advocates with valuable resources on how to best support these families and youth, and help ensure that all students have the opportunity to succeed in school and beyond.
Recently Asked Questions and Answers on Displaced Immigrant Families and Education
In recent months, thousands of immigrant families have been relocated by the governors of Arizona, Florida, and Texas to states and communities across the country. These families typically arrive without safe, stable housing, and experience homelessness and high mobility that can last for months. SchoolHouse Connection condemns this politically calculated displacement and the upheaval and harm it causes. At the same time, we know that school can be a place of stability and services to help mitigate the disruption and trauma caused by homelessness. We’ve received numerous questions about the educational rights and protections of children and youth in immigrant families, and offer our answers to some of these questions below.
Additional resource: Q&A from our Inbox – Immigration
A note on terminology
The media often refers to displaced immigrant families as “migrant” families. However, “migrant” means someone who moves because the student or family are involved in temporary, seasonal agricultural or fishing work. “Immigrant” means a person who moves to a country and plans to stay permanently. In this document, SHC will refer to families from Arizona, Florida, and Texas as immigrants.
No. Undocumented children and youth have the right to participate fully in school, regardless of immigration status. Local educational agencies (LEAs) and LEA-administered preschool programs cannot ask about a student’s or family’s immigration status or take other actions that discourage students from seeking enrollment. In addition, schools and district-administered preschool programs cannot require social security numbers or immigration or citizenship documentation. Schools cannot contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other law enforcement officials about a student’s or family’s immigration status.
SHC recommends reaching out to the student’s previous school, even if that school is in another country. It is possible the previous school will have copies of the vital records. Connect families with trusted and reputable legal resources in the community who can provide guidance on obtaining vital documents. Homeless liaisons also can support families in obtaining immunizations from local medical providers.
Yes. The McKinney-Vento Act includes within its definition of homelessness the following living situations:
- Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason
- Staying in motels, hotels, trailer parks, campgrounds due to a lack of adequate alternative accommodations
- Staying in emergency or transitional shelters
- Staying in a public or private place not designed for ordinary use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings
- Staying in cars, parks, bus or train stations, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, or similar settings
- Unaccompanied youth (youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian) staying in the above circumstances
The key with this question is that the children would not be in the classroom based on their homelessness or immigration status. The new class is taking the children in order from the waitlist, and they’ve been prioritized based on their homelessness. At some point children lower on the waitlist, who are not experiencing homelessness, could end up in the class, so the class will not consist only of immigrant children experiencing homelessness.
Strategies for Supporting Immigrant and Migrant Students Experiencing Homelessness
With an increase in students arriving to the U.S. from other countries, many local educational agency (LEA) homeless liaisons have questions about eligibility for services under the McKinney-Vento Act, as well as strategies for best serving these students.
This resource provides an overview of the rights of immigrant, migrant, and undocumented children and youth; strategies and best practices for supporting immigrant and migrant children, youth, and families; and ideas for using American Rescue Plan-Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) funds to serve these populations.
Immigrant Students Experiencing Homelessness: Liaisons’ Strategies
An increasing number of families and youth are arriving in the U.S. from other countries, many without stable housing. This resource provides strategies and ideas from four local educational agencies (LEAs) across the country on supporting immigrant, migrant, and undocumented children and youth experiencing homelessness.
Immigrant Students: How Schools Can Help
Federal rules on immigrant youth and families are changing rapidly, from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Recently, schools are welcoming more immigrant families from all over the world due to violence and natural disasters. This brief provides basic information about eligibility for education services for different immigrant populations, and practical suggestions for schools.
Other National Resources
- Sesame Street In Communities: Supporting Families Resettling in the U.S.
- Colorín Colorado: Guides and Toolkits
- National Immigration Law Center: Basic Facts about In-State Tuition for Undocumented Immigrants
- UnidosUS
- Migration Policy Institute
- League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)