Keeping a child attending school regularly may be difficult when a family’s housing circumstances are not stable. This includes but is not limited to, doubled-up, couch surfing, hotel/motel living, and inadequate living conditions. Learn more about your rights.

Children who remain in school can maintain academic and emotional stability and consistently receive nutrition during their family's hardships.

If your family struggles to maintain a child's attendance because of housing instability, please contact the homeless liaison in your district. He/she will help ensure your student has all of the necessary tools and resources (including transportation and school supplies) to be able to attend school regardless of your temporary living situation. You can find your local liaison here.
You can also reach out to Sara Orris, our Homeless Consultant.

The connection between student health and chronic absenteeism is clear. When a child is at home sick, they miss valuable hours of instruction. Both chronic and acute health conditions can prevent students from attending school. Research indicates that common health conditions resulting in missed school include asthma, influenza, diabetes, obesity and related illnesses, seizure disorders, mental health and anxiety, and vision problems. Parents are often concerned that schools may not understand or be able to attend to their student's health needs.

If your child suffers from an acute or chronic health condition, please reach out to your school. Many supports are available to ensure that a student's health issues are addressed during the school day. Schools can create individualized health plans and provide training to staff to best attend to a student's health condition during the school day. School staff can work collaboratively with the student's medical team to support the student during the school day.

For additional resources and information, you can visit The Michigan Association of School Nurses.

Join the MISD and take an "all-hands-on-deck" team approach to create positive conditions for learning in our schools. We believe that every child deserves the opportunity to attend school every day.

We are committed to supporting our districts with solutions and resources to make this happen. Please contact Michelle Marcellin for more information.