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]]> http://palos.weareillinois.org/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=9613 http://palos.weareillinois.org/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=9613 Wed, 19 May 2010 11:37:15 GMT
BY PHIL KADNER
There are about 950,000 homeless children in public schools in this country. That staggering number was recorded by t he U.S. Department of Education for the 2008-09 school year and represents a 40 percent increase over the previous year.

There are 13,833 children classified as homeless in Chicago's public schools.

All of those children are not living in shelters or cardboard boxes. If a family is temporarily taken in by a neighbor or relative because eviction, foreclosure or job loss, the kids are considered homeless even if they are living in someone else's home.

But there were 3,417 children in the Chicago public schools identified as having no parent or adult guardian in their lives.

U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-13th), of Hinsdale, has introduced new legislation designed to keep homeless kids in school. Biggert's district includes some of the more prosperous suburbs of Chicago, including Burr Ridge, Clarendon Hills, Homer Glen, Naperville and Orland Park.

"The congresswoman understands that homelessness affects every community in the country," a spokesman for Biggert said, "and that includes wealthy areas in DuPage and Cook counties."

A few months back, I encountered a young woman from Chicago who had just obtained a college scholarship. She had been homeless off and on throughout her teen years, sometimes living with friends, sometimes living out of her car.

She often studied under the dome light of her parked car at night in the middle of winter.

People like to stereotype kids based on income, race or ethnic group. And some folks pretend it is impossible to get a good education at a Chicago public school.

But this girl, with the assistance of some dedicated teachers, was able to get to college even though she didn't have a place to call home. No one had to tell her to do her homework.

She told me she did it because she knew it was the only way out of the hole in life that her parents had dug for her.

Not every homeless kid is going to be a success story. But they deserve a chance.

And that's what Biggert wants to give them.

Apparently she's been battling for the rights of homeless children ever since she first served in the Illinois Legislature back in the early 1990s and has taken a passion for that cause with her to Congress, where she's the co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Homelessness.

A graduate of New Trier High School in Winnetka, Stanford University and Northwestern University School of Law, Biggert's background doesn't suggest that she would be a champion of the underprivileged.

But then many folks from privileged backgrounds have come to realize that others deserve the same opportunities they took for granted growing up.

"School is often the only source of stability and security in the lives of children," Biggert stated in a news release. "But homeless kids face unique challenges that can make it extremely difficult to enroll in school and make it to class every day. Being without a home should not mean being without an education."

Although you would think school officials would be sensitive to the plight of children whose parents lose their homes, they're often not.

Back in 2006, this newspaper fought a battle on behalf of a 9-year-old in an Alsip school district whose parents couldn't provide an apartment lease because of a dispute with a landlord.

The Illinois school code and the Illinois Constitution both state that every child is entitled to a public education.

But school officials often use residency requirements to harass or intimidate homeless people.

They know such people often don't have access to attorneys, and they don't go out of their way to notify the homeless about their rights.

Biggert's legislation would strengthen existing language that allows homeless kids to stay in school.

For example, under the law, a homeless child is allowed to remain in his school of origin, but if the child would have graduated from a grade school to a middle school, some districts claim there no longer is a school of origin.

Biggert's bill apparently would make it clear that children have a right to go on to other schools in the district they would have attended if they were not homeless.

It also would open summer school, preschool and before- and after-school programs to homeless youth.

And it would increase federal funding for homeless students to $300 million from the proposed level of $135 million.

Biggert's become a champion of homeless children, and that's worth noting.

She's not going to get any campaign funds from those kids. They can't vote.

The congresswoman is just doing what is right for those who can't speak for themselves.

I find that admirable.



]]> http://palos.weareillinois.org/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=9603 http://palos.weareillinois.org/newsdetail.aspx?newsid=9603 Tue, 18 May 2010 13:34:24 GMT