Report 2019-104 Recommendation 12 Responses

Report 2019-104: Youth Experiencing Homelessness: California's Education System for K-12 Inadequately Identifies and Supports These Youth (Release Date: November 2019)

Recommendation #12 To: Birmingham Community Charter School

To comply with federal law and best practices, Birmingham Charter should, before academic year 2020-21, distribute information about the educational rights of youth experiencing homelessness in public places, including schools, shelters, public libraries, and food pantries frequented by families of such youth, as federal law requires. Further, to mitigate families' and youth's hesitance to disclosing their living situation the LEA should include the protections set forth in federal and state laws in the information it distributes.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2021

Veronica Perez, the Homeless Liaison, from our school visited food banks, shelters and libraries within our attendance area and posted information in English and Spanish describing the rights and protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness prior to the start of school both in August of 2020 and August of 2021. We kept a log of the organizations visited that includes the name and address of the organization and the date of the visit as evidence of our efforts.

The information describing the rights and protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness is also posted in all offices and classrooms at our school (we are a single school site independent charter high school) as of the SY2021-22. The posted information includes the rights and the protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness and has been approved by the Los Angeles County Office of Education, the US Department of Education and the National Center for Homeless Education.

The rights and protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness are also included on our website and can be directly accessed via the following link:

https://www.birminghamcharter.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=168038&type=d&pREC_ID=1785081

Finally, these rights and protections are also detailed on the Student Residency Questionnaire which must be completed annually by a parent/guardian prior to enrollment regardless of whether the student was enrolled at our school the previous year.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

1-Year Agency Response

A representative from our school visited food banks, shelters and libraries within our attendance area and posted a poster in English and Spanish describing the rights and protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness. We kept a log of the organizations visited that includes the name and address of the organization and the date of the visit as evidence of our efforts. The same poster in English and Spanish describing the rights and protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness is posted in all offices and classrooms at our school (we are a single school site independent charter high school). The poster includes the rights AND the protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness and has been approved by the Los Angeles County Office of Education, the US Department of Education and the National Center for Homeless Education.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

The poster that Birmingham Charter distributed does not contain the protections set forth in federal and state laws. Until the poster includes this information, we will continue to report this recommendation as not fully implemented.

6-Month Agency Response

A representative from our school will visit food banks, shelters and libraries within our attendance area and post a poster in English and Spanish of the rights and protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness. We will keep a log of the organizations visited that includes the name and address of the organization and the date of the visit as evidence of our efforts. The same poster in English and Spanish outlining the rights and protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness will be posted in all classrooms and offices in our school (we are a single school site independent charter high school). We will make sure that the poster includes the rights AND the protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

A representative from our school visited food banks, churches, shelters and libraries within our attendance area and posted a poster in English and Spanish of the rights and protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness. The same poster in English and Spanish outlining the rights and protections afforded to youths experiencing homelessness has been posted in all classrooms and offices in our school (we are a single school site independent charter high school).

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Partially Implemented

Birmingham Charter provided documentation to demonstrate that it distributed information to community partners to post in public places. However, although the information it distributed includes the rights of youth experiencing homelessness, it does not include protections set forth in federal and state laws.

All Recommendations in 2019-104

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.