Hawai'i schools violating law on homeless students
U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor, in an oral ruling, has sided with three homeless families who sued the state for allegedly failing to provide them an adequate education as required under federal law. Gillmor is expected to issue a written order instructing the state education department to fix an enrollment system that currently accounts for just 300 of an estimated 2,000 homeless schoolchildren statewide, said Lawyers for Equal Justice attorney William Durham, who filed the suit with the American Civil Liberties Union. Assistant Superintendent Daniel Hamada acknowledged flaws in identifying homeless students, who numbered 900 by the end of the last school year, according to state data. Hamada said staff members contact parents who lack a home address or list a homeless or transitional shelter when registering to check if they need help. But that process, he noted, misses parents who are reluctant to admit they are homeless and use the address of a friend or relative where they might be staying. In her decision, Gillmor also granted class-action status to the lawsuit, meaning it would affect all eligible children, Durham said. The lawsuit argues the state violated the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, which gives Hawai‛i about $200,000 a year in federal grants for homeless programs. The act requires schools to offer adequate transportation for homeless students, and allows children whose families are displaced by homelessness to enroll in the campus they were attending before, even if they move outside the district. The suit contends the state education department has been aware of the alleged shortcomings since April 2006. But Hamada claims the U.S. Department of Education said in a January 2007 letter that it was "satisfied" with Hawai‛i's compliance with the McKinney-Vento act.
Source: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 2/11/08, By Alexandre Da Silva, with Nelson Daranciang
[Editor’s Note: The first document below sets forth the plaintiffs’ allegations against the statewide school district. The other links are to resources on the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, including information on a 2004 class action lawsuit against the state of New York.]
Plaintiffs’ memorandum in support of motion for preliminary injunction
Inquiry & Analysis, April 2004, By Patricia F. Julianelle
NSBA School Law pages on federal non-regulatory guidance
NSBA School Law pages on National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty v. State of New York
NSBA School Law pages on role of McKinney-Vento after Hurricane Katrina