Below is information regarding McKinney-Vento, Migrant Education Program, English Language Learners, and Foster Policy. If you have any questions, feel free to select any of the links for additional information or contact Ms. Diane Medley, at dmedley@discoverycharter.org or 219-983-9800 ext. 20126.
McKinney-Vento/Homelessness Policy
Discovery Charter School abides by the State and Federal laws when it comes to serving youth who are homeless. Below is information about the McKinney-Vento program.
The McKinneyVento Homeless Children and Youth Program was designed to make sure all homeless children and youth have equal access to the same free and appropriate public education as children and youth who are not homeless. This includes preschool education. State and local educational agencies are required to develop, review and revise policies to remove barriers to the enrollment, attendance and success in school that homeless children and youth may experience. Local educational agencies also must provide homeless children and youth with the opportunity to meet the same challenging state content and state student performance standards to which all students are held.
https://www.doe.in.gov/elme/mckinney-vento-parents-and-youth
Migrant Education Program
The Indiana Migrant Education Program administers a supplemental educational program for the children of migratory agricultural farm workers in Indiana. As part of this program and Title I, Part C of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, is carried out in the state of Indiana by the Indiana Department of Education, through Migrant Regional Centers located throughout the state.
Last year, there were more than 1800 migrant students present in Indiana in all areas of the state. The Indiana MEP collaborates with Indiana school districts through the Migrant Work Survey, which is required to be administered every year to all children upon their enrollment in school. Additionally, Migrant Regional Centers (MRCs) collaborate with districts where migrant students are attending, and provide supplemental support to these students during the school year.
https://www.doe.in.gov/elme/migrant-101
English Language Learner
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires state education agencies to establish and implement standardized, statewide entrance and exit procedures for English Learners (Section 3113). In accordance with federal regulations, all states are required to:
Identify the languages other than English present in their student population;
Assess the language proficiency of students in order to place them in the appropriate language development program; and
Administer an annual assessment of English proficiency, which includes measuring a student’s oral language, reading, and writing skills in English.
The purpose of the English language proficiency assessments is to determine a student's level of English proficiency. WIDA provides the English language proficiency placement and summative assessments administered in Indiana. The Kindergarten W-APT and WIDA Screener are used to identify and inform initial programmatic placement of English Learners. WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Alternate Access summative assessments are administered annually to determine a student's current level of English proficiency. The summative assessments are also used for accountability purposes.
https://www.doe.in.gov/elme/english-learning
Foster Care Policy
IC 20-50-3-5
Transportation of students in foster care
Sec. 5. (a) If a student in foster care temporarily stays in the student's original school corporation but outside the attendance area of the student's school of origin, the original school corporation shall provide transportation for the student from the place where the student is temporarily staying to the school of origin and from the school of origin to the place where the student is temporarily staying.
(b) If:
(1) the school of origin of a student in foster care is located in a school corporation other than the school corporation in which the student is temporarily staying;
(2) the school of origin is located in a school corporation that adjoins the school corporation in which the student is temporarily staying; and
(3) the student does not elect to attend a school located in the school corporation in which the student in foster care is temporarily staying;
the original school corporation and the transitional school corporation shall enter into an agreement concerning the responsibility for and apportionment of the costs of transporting the student to and from the school of origin.
(c) If the original school corporation and the transitional school corporation described in subsection (b) are unable to reach an agreement under subsection (b), the responsibility for transporting the student in foster care to and from the school of origin is shared equally between both school corporations, and the cost of transporting the student to and from the school of origin is apportioned equally between both school corporations.
As added by P.L.133-2008, SEC.3.