Must school districts provide transportation for homeless preschool children?
If a district-administered preschool program offers transportation as part of its preschool services and a child becomes homeless while attending the preschool program, the district must provide transportation to the homeless preschool child. In addition, a district must provide transportation if a child is enrolled in a special education preschool program and has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that requires transportation for special education services (see http://dpi.wi.gov/homeless/transp_legislative.html).
Preschool children do not have a school of origin. (Note: School of origin is defined as the school that the child or youth attended when permanently housed or the school in which the child or youth was last enrolled. ) However, if a child enrolled in a preschool program administered by the public school district becomes homeless, and if the district provides transportation to the preschool program for housed children, the district is obligated, at the request of the parent or guardian, to provide transportation to a preschool child who becomes homeless, usually within the district.
