Homeless Program
All students in Roane County Schools who experience homelessness are served through our Homeless Liaison. The contact information is as follows:
Kelly Tedder, MSW, LSSW
Student Support, Family Resource Director, Homeless and Foster Care Liaison
Midtown Education Center
3096 Roane State Highway
Harriman, TN 37748
ESSA Title IX
Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program
The Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program, authorized under the Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Act, was reauthorized in Dec. 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
All school districts are required to provide needed services to homeless children. The department receives funding for the program through the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Grant Program and distributes grants competitively to LEAs that have developed programs that document effective collaboration among school districts and service providers to ensure that homeless children in that district receive needed services.
The McKinney-Vento Act is designed to address the challenges that homeless children and youths have faced in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school with a strong emphasis on the importance of school stability for homeless children and youths. Changing schools multiple times significantly impedes a student’s academic and social growth. Therefore, the McKinney-Vento Act calls for school districts to maintain students in their school of origin to promote school stability and greater educational outcomes overall, unless it is not in the student’s best interest.
Under Subtitle B of Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, § 725, homeless children and youths means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes:
Any parent of a homeless student has the right to dispute decision made regarding the school placement of a homeless student. Those rights can be found here: