QUESTION
What coordination is happening between the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and the Department of Education (DOE) regarding students transferring schools due to shelter transfers or closures?
1:36:01
·
123 sec
DHS tries to transfer students to shelters within the same borough as their current school to minimize disruption.
- Parents have the choice whether to transfer their child's school when moving shelters
- DOE provides busing for younger students to attend their original school after a shelter transfer
- When closing shelters, DHS tries to wait until the end of the school year to avoid mid-year transfers
- However, sometimes hotels require DHS to vacate before the school year ends, forcing mid-year transfers
- DOE coordinates with families to give them the opportunity to decide on transferring schools
Diana I. Ayala
1:36:01
Could you just tell me what I mean, I think you heard also testimony from the young women about the the the transfer situation in schools and how difficult that is.
1:36:11
The actually, the mother that I I was referencing to that sits in front of the dollar store.
1:36:17
You know, she says that her kids have transferred out of school and least three times, you know, in the in in the school year.
1:36:24
And it's been horrible for them because they have friends in school.
1:36:28
They have teachers that they learn to care for.
1:36:30
And then they have to leave those environments as well.
1:36:33
So what kind of coordination is taking place between DHS and the DOE in advance of these types of shelter transfers and and shelter closings to ensure that children are in missing school days or having to transfer to a new school, for example, in May or June, and Similarly, when the HHS intends to close the shelter, why can't the HHS wait until the end of the school year to do so in order to not cause the children to be absent from will transfer out my dear.
Joslyn Carter
1:36:58
So for children, we when there when there's a need, to transfer typically, we're trying to transfer within the bureau of, oh, would the children go to school?
1:37:07
The parents have their choice whether or not they're going to transfer their children most you know, if they choose not, they don't have to attend the DOE and office of people transportation to do busing for the younger ones.
1:37:20
As as much as we can, if we have to close a shelter a hotel because for a variety of reasons, sometimes the hotel wants us to leave.
1:37:30
And they may want to just leave and don't want us to stay until the end of school year.
1:37:34
Right?
1:37:34
It's just some reality they want us to leave now.
1:37:36
As much as we can, if they want us to leave, we're trying to push to the end of the school year, end of June to do that, to make that a seamless closing as much as possible.
1:37:47
It's times, and that doesn't happen.
1:37:49
But we do coordinate DOE coordinates with the family to let them, you know, have that opportunity to make that choice.
1:37:54
If they need you know, but we're trying to transfer within the borough where the child does go to school.
1:37:59
So that is something that we try to do.
1:38:01
They don't have to leave the borough of the youngest child's school.
