The McKinney-Vento 

Homeless Education Assistance Act

Definition

The federal definition of homelessness used by all public schools in the United States includes children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This definition specifically includes children and youth living in shelters, transitional housing, cars, campgrounds, motels, and sharing the housing of others temporarily due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reasons. This is the same definition of homelessness used by Head Start, special education, child nutrition, and other federal family and youth programs.

The Rights of Homeless Students

Students who meet the definition of "Homeless" and are identified or identify themselves as such have the right to:

• Receive a free, appropriate public education;
• Enroll in school immediately, even if they lack documents normally required for enrollment (i.e. birth certificates, transcripts, vaccinations, etc.);
• Enroll in school and attend classes while the school works with the family/student to gather the needed documents;  
• Enroll in the local school; or continue attending the school they last attended, if that is their preference and is possible.  If the district believes that the school chosen is not in the student's best interest, a written explanation will be provided and the student has the right to appeal this decision;
• Receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if requested; and,
• Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to the student's needs.

Identification

At Wayne Public Schools, students are primarily identified at enrollment or through the school Counselor.  Families or students who believe that they are homeless, should identify themselves as such to the school Counselor.

Dispute Process

If a dispute arises over school selection or enrollment, the established district dispute process shall be followed.  Children have the right of enrollment until such time as there is a final resolution to the dispute. 

Should the final result of the district dispute process be unsatisfactory to the parent/guardian/student, they may appeal the district’s final decision by contacting the State Homeless Liaison, Tammy Smith (Tammy.Smith@sde.ok.gov) at the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Homeless Liaison

Wayne Public Schools is required to identify a person to act as a Homeless Liaison.  This person's duties involve training school staff in identification procedures, serving as an advocate for homeless students, arranging for services and arbitrating disputes that may arise.

Wayne School Districts Homeless Liaison is Karen Walker, Guidance Counselor, and can be reached at 405-449-3317 ext. 32.

NHS FOOD DRIVE

Wayne High School National Honor Society members are sponsoring a Food Drive to help those in our school community for Thanksgiving!   

Please help our families in need by bringing the following items to school:  Instant potatoes, stuffing mix, cake mix, canned icing, pudding mix, canned veggies (corn, green beans, carrots, yams)   cranberry  sauce, canned or bottled juices, peanut butter, pancake mix, syrup, boxed mac and cheese, turkey gravy, pickles, cornbread mix, or other canned goods.

We will also accept turkey or ham donations and/or grocery store gift cards.

If you have any questions please contact Ms. Walker at 405-449-3317.

NHS Thanksgiving Food Drive

NHS is sponsoring a food drive for local families this Thanksgiving season.

If your family could benefit from help of this kind and you would like us to sponsor your family for Thanksgiving, please complete the information at the bottom of the page and return to Ms. Walker, School Counselor, as soon as possible. 

Name of Student(s):________________________________  

Name of Parent(s):_________________________________

Address:_________________________________________

Phone Number:___________________

Number of people in family:_______________

Signature:_____________________     Date:________________                                                

CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT

Juniors and Seniors may enroll in college courses if they meet admission requirements, not to exceed a full time college workload of 19 hours for fall and spring semesters.  For purposes of calculating workload ½ high school units shall be equivalent to 3 semester credit hours of college work.

High School Juniors and Seniors who meet the eligibility requirements are entitled to receive tuition waivers for up to 9 hours per semester at most Oklahoma colleges and universities.   These waivers do not include the cost of books, travel expenses, or student fees.  Student Fees (not including books and travel expenses) for concurrent enrollment will be paid for by Wayne Public Schools at the discretion of administration. Students who fail a class during a semester will not be eligible to receive a fee waiver for the next semester.

Students are limited to which college classes they can take and count as high school credit.    The following list represents the most common courses concurrently enrolled students have taken in the past at OCCC.   3 College Credit Hours are calculated as 1 Wayne High School credit.

ENGL 1113 (English Composition 1)

PSY 1113 (Intro. to Psychology)

SOC 1113 (Intro to Sociology

HIST 1483 (U.S. History Before 1877)

HIST 1493 (U.S. History After 1877)

HUM 1113 (Music Appreciation)

ART 1053 (Art Appreciation)

BIO 1113/1114 (Biology)

CS 1103 (Intro to Computers and Application)

MATH 1483 (Functions and Modeling)

MATH 1503 (Contemporary Math)

MATH 2013 (Intro. to Statistics)

Concurrent Enrollment Applications must be signed by the concurrent enrollment applicant, their parent/guardian and either the Counselor or Principal at their High School. Students must submit a new Concurrent Enrollment Application each semester.

The number of classes that students may enroll in a combined number of high school and college courses per semester are calculated as follows:

# of Classes @ High School               # of Hours allowed @ OCCC

            6                                                          1

            5                                                          4

            4                                                          7

            3                                                          10

            2                                                          13

            1                                                          16

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

College Plan:

English -4

Math -3 (Algebra I or above)

Science -3 Laboratory sciences only

Social Studies -3

Fine arts and/or humanities-1

Computers or Foreign Language (cannot be one of each and must be the same Foreign Language) -2

Other M/S.H -1  

Electives (8 to equal 25 credits) (including ½ financial literacy)

Core Graduation Plan: (The Core Plan form must be signed by the parent/guardian with the understanding this is a NON-college bound curriculum. The parent of the student may opt-out of the college bound curriculum with the understanding this plan does not qualify students for admission to a college or university.)

English -4

Math -3 may include Contextual Algebra, Math of Finance or Intermediate Algebra

Science -3 (can include qualified agriculture classes)

Social Studies -3

Fine Arts/Humanities/Speech -2

Electives (10 to equal 25 credits)

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act

Definition

The federal definition of homelessness used by all public schools in the United States includes children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This definition specifically includes children and youth living in shelters, transitional housing, cars, campgrounds, motels, and sharing the housing of others temporarily due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reasons. This is the same definition of homelessness used by Head Start, special education, child nutrition, and other federal family and youth programs.

The Rights of Homeless Students

Students who meet the definition of "Homeless" and are identified or identify themselves as such have the right to:

• Receive a free, appropriate public education;
• Enroll in school immediately, even if they lack documents normally required for enrollment (i.e. birth certificates, transcripts, vaccinations, etc.);
• Enroll in school and attend classes while the school works with the family/student to gather the needed documents;  
• Enroll in the local school; or continue attending the school they last attended, if that is their preference and is possible.  If the district believes that the school chosen is not in the student's best interest, a written explanation will be provided and the student has the right to appeal this decision;
• Receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if requested; and,
• Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to the student's needs.

Identification

At WHS, students are primarily identified at enrollment or through the school Counselor.  Families or students, who believe that they are homeless, should identify themselves as such to the school Counselor.

Dispute Process

If a dispute arises over school selection or enrollment, the established district dispute process shall be followed [Policy 4004(IV)(C)]. Children have the right of enrollment until such time as there is a final resolution to the dispute. 

Parents/Guardians/Students who feel that their request to enroll has been incorrectly denied or wish to contest their child's placement should be encouraged to contact the Director of Federal Programs for consultation. If the dispute is not resolved at this stage, they will be asked to submit their case in writing followed by the remainder of the steps outlined in Policy 4004(IV)(C).

Should the final result of the district dispute process be unsatisfactory to the parent/guardian/student, they may appeal the district’s final decision by contacting the State Homeless Liaison at the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Homeless Liaison

WHS is required to identify a person to act as a Homeless Liaison.  This person's duties involve training school staff in identification procedures, serving as an advocate for homeless students, arranging for services and arbitrating disputes that may arise.

WHS’s Homeless Liaison is Karen Walker, Counselor, and may be reached at 405-449-3317.