Parent Resources

NCHE Resources

Parent booklet

This brochure explains the educational rights of children and youth experiencing homelessness and informs parents about ways in which they can support their children's education during times of mobility.
Visit the NCHE store to order.

Parent Pack Pocket Folder

This sturdy, laminated folder provides parents a place to keep important records and documents related to their children's education. The folder also includes information on the rights of children and youth experiencing homelessness and helpful tips about enrollment and disenrollment.
Visit the NCHE store to order.

Parent poster

This poster explains who qualifies as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and lists the educational rights of children and youth experiencing homelessness. Place these posters in your school or community to generate public awareness.
Visit the NCHE store to order.

School Help for Homeless Children with Disabilities: Information for Parents

This brief provides information about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and how it can help homeless children with special needs. It is designed for parents, guardians, and other people taking care of children and youth.
Download School Help for Homeless Children with Disabilities: Information for Parents.

Other Resources

2-1-1

2-1-1 is a nationwide service connecting people to help. Visit their website, www.211.org, or call 2-1-1.

Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR)

The Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR) serves as a central resource of information and products to the community of Parent Training Information (PTI) Centers and the Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs), so that they can focus their efforts on serving families of children with disabilities.
Visit the Center for Parent Information and Resources website.

Educational Resource Toolkit: A Reconnecting Families and Dads Initiative

This toolkit from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) seeks to foster strong relationships between parents and their children, offers useful educational resources, and can be used by housing authorities as a tool to help parents support their children's academic success.
Download Educational Resource Toolkit: A Reconnecting Families and Dads Initiative.

Helping Young Children Grow and Learn: A Guide for Families and Shelter Providers

This booklet from Project HOPE will help parents and shelter providers support children's early learning. Goals of the booklet include helping those working with young children to use everyday activities to encourage learning and growth, notice any concerns in a child's development, and locate resources for more information about early development.
Download Helping Young Children Grow and Learn: A Guide for Families and Shelter Providers.

IDEA Parent Guide: A Comprehensive Guide to Your Rights and Responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004)

Published by the National Center for Learning Disabilities and GreatSchools, this free publication addresses the special issues, challenges, and opportunities facing parents of children who struggle to learn. It introduces parents to several key parts of NCLB that they can use as tools to improve educational services for their child.
Download IDEA Parent Guide: A Comprehensive Guide to Your Rights and Responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004).

Parent-Teacher Conference Tip Sheets for Principals, Teachers, and Parents

These tip sheets from the Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) provide key strategies for both parents and teachers to walk into conferences informed and prepared. A tip sheet aimed at school principals also outlines how school administrators can support parents and teachers to that end. Designed to be used as a set, these tip sheets combine consistent information with targeted suggestions so that parents and educators enter conferences with shared expectations and increased ability to work together to improve children's educational outcomes.
Download the Parent-Teacher Conference Tip Sheets.

School and Learning

This webpage from the Family Education Network offers a variety of resources to help parents encourage success in their children's education.
Visit the School and Learning webpage.

Unlocking Potential: What Families and Shelters Need to Know About Homelessness and Special Education

This brief from Project HOPE provides families experiencing homelessness and service providers who work with these families an overview of the special education process. It includes a table outlining the steps in the special education eligibility process and what families and service providers can do to make the process easier, resources to assist families or youth when special education services are being pursued, and definitions of words commonly used by educators and local homeless education liaisons.

Download Unlocking Potential: What Families and Shelters Need to Know About Homelessness and Special Education.

U.S. Department of Education: Especially for Parents

This section of the U.S. Dept. of Education's website provides numerous resources for parents interested in their children's education. Resources include a parent's guide to the No Child Left Behind Act, publications for parents, information on federal student aid for college, and more.
Visit the Especially for Parents webpage.

Sample Forms, Materials, and Policies

Cobb County School District (Atlanta, GA): Administrative Forms

See Section J: Homeless Students of Cobb County School District's Board Policies and Administrative Rules for a variety of forms related to enrolling and educating children and youth experiencing homelessness, including:

Information on the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
Procedure for Free Lunch
Procedure For Transportation to School of Origin
School of Origin Request
Student Residency Statement
Written Notification Form

Forms are available in multiple languages, including English, Arabic, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Visit the Cobb County School District (Atlanta, GA): Administrative Forms webpage.

New York City Department of Education: McKinney-Vento Guide for Parents and Youth

This two-page guide from the New York City Department of Education explains important information about the McKinney-Vento Act to parents and youth. The guide is available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu.
Download the McKinney-Vento Guide for Parents and Youth.

Packet for Parents Facing Incarceration

This sample packet from Adrian Public Schools in Adrian, MI, provides information to assist parents facing incarceration with making appropriate arrangements for their children. Included in the packet are a checklist of tasks for parents facing incarceration, a list of frequently asked questions, a blank power of attorney form, a sample completed power of attorney form, and a flyer about the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education program.
Download the Packet for Parents Facing Incarceration.