District Attempts to Locate, Provide for Displaced Students

With several homes condemned due to flood damage, the Hillsborough Township School District is attempting to locate students whose families lost their homes.

“They are absolutely entitled to attend Hillsborough Schools,” Teresa Von Den Steinen, Secretary to School Business Administrator Aiman Mahmoud, said. “Children displaced by the storm are classified as “homeless” even though it is temporary. The district of residence is responsible for their education and transportation.”

The district’s policy on homeless students states that a students’ district of residence shall provide transportation for that student if the student is in-district. If the homeless student is enrolled in a school that is outside the district, the district in which the child attends school will provide transportation, and the district of residence will pay that district’s transportation costs. In each case, the boards of education are expected to explore the transportation alternatives and provide the most economical and safest modes of transportation.

Thus far, Von Den Steinen reached out to the township’s Social Services Department, Office of Emergency Management and the Hillsborough Police Department, as well as asking school principals to contact the district office if they hear about a student who is displaced. In addition, the district placed a note on its website and hopes to send an instant alert to families.

“We are making ever effort to locate any displaced children and provide transportation for them as quickly as possible,” Von Den Steinen said. “But we can only help those who we can identify.”

Families with school-aged children who were displaced by the storm should contact Teresa Von Den Steinen at 908-431-6600x2001 as soon as possible.