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FREE PRESS Southfield High School senior Lydia Taylor may not have a permanent roof over her head, but she and other homeless students have guaranteed seats at their school.
As the number of homeless students has exploded in Michigan, the federal McKinney-Vento Act forces schools nationwide to ensure students can stay in class at the same school. The law requires schools to pay for everything from school supplies to taxis to take them to school, if necessary, until the family finds a permanent place to live.
Studies show it takes students four to six months to adjust academically each time a child bounces from hotel to shelter to family or friends' couches, said Holly Holloway, program manager for the Oakland Schools Homeless Student Education Program.
"For a lot of these kids, it's the one thing they have in their lives that's stable," Holloway said of staying in one school.
As her family's BMW, Corvette and ultimately her home disappeared because of financial woes, Lydia Taylor, now 19, attended 13 schools in metro Detroit.
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http://www.freep.com/article/20100418/NEWS05/4180582/School-districts-face-more-homeless-students