11.08.2012 | Insideschools.org | “A lot of schools are getting an overflow of kids,” said Jennifer Pringle, director of NYS TEACHS, which runs a statewide hotline for schools and families about the educational rights of homeless children. And as some shelters close and families are relocated to other living situations, she said, “You’re looking at kids who are going to transition through several schools.”

Elementary and middle school students may enroll directly at the neighborhood schools closest to where they are staying and high school students should go to an enrollment center to enroll in a school closer to where they are living.

Displaced students also have the right to keep attending school in their home neighborhoods, said Pringle. “You can always keep your kids in the same school,” she said. “Being connected to the same teachers and school can be supportive when everything else is chaotic in their lives. But the biggest issue for parents is transportation. Sometimes it’s not a viable option for them — parents can take four to six hours a day to get their children to school.”

“There are so many unanswered questions – the city has yet to articulate what its longterm strategy is going to be for these families,” Pringle said.  Read article