Information for School Districts Serving Pupils Displaced by Hurricane Katrina

This webpage is designed to provide a topical listing of information sources for school districts, schools, educators and parents on serving students who have been displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

Thank you to all Wisconsin school districts, educators, teachers, parents and communities who are responding with great care to this national crisis.

Federal Emergency Impact Aid

• Katrina impact aid payment: http://dpi.wi.gov/pb/doc/katrinapayltr.doc
  
  
• Final guidance letter: http://dpi.wi.gov/pb/doc/katrinafinalguidance.doc
  
  
• LEA application document: http://dpi.wi.gov/pb/doc/katrinaappl.doc
  
  
• Parent application document: http://dpi.wi.gov/pb/doc/katrinaparappl.doc
  
  
• Nonpublic application document: http://dpi.wi.gov/pb/doc/katrinanonpubappl.doc
  
  
• Katrina aid FAQs: FAQ 1 and FAQ 2
  
  
• Katrina aid bill language H.R. 2863: http://dpi.wi.gov/pb/pdf/katrinahr2863.pdf
  
  
• Electronic student reporting tool: For districts that have displaced students, an electronic reporting application has been designed to report those students. Districts should go to their district’s reporting home page on the "School Finance Reporting Portal" at https://www2.dpi.state.wi.us/safr/. Select the "Non Financial Data Home" link, then the "Hurricane Impact Aid (PI 7506)" link. Submit the student count data as prescribed. Districts that have displaced students will need to re-use the PI 7506 to report students for the future February 1 and April 1 count dates. Please contact a school finance consultant should you have questions about completing the student count application.

Distance Diplomas

December 2005: Louisiana Department of Education offers distance diplomas - The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted in September to allow students who relocated to other states due to the hurricanes to receive Louisiana diplomas during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 school years. Here are links to necessary information for districts that are currently serving displaced juniors and seniors:

• DPI memo to school counselors on obtaining Louisiana diplomas for graduating seniors: http://dpi.wi.gov/pb/katcounsel.html
  
  
• Informational letter: http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/ssa/dd_home.html
  
  
• FAQs: http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/uploads/8266.pdf
  
  
• Flyer: http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/uploads/8265.pdf
  
  
• Information for counselors and administrators: http://www.louisianaschools.net/distdiploma/dd_home.aspx

Department Guidance/Documents

• Superintendent's September 2, 2005 memo: http://dpi.wi.gov/eis/pdf/dpi2005_119.pdf
  
  
• Superintendent's September 9, 2005 guidance letter: http://dpi.wi.gov/pdf/katrinasept9.pdf
  
  
• School Finance Services memo on Transfer of Service requests: http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/ltrsept9_05.html
  
  
• Special Education Transfer Students Made Homeless by Hurricane Katrina: http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/spkatrina.html
  
  
• Food and Nutrition Services: http://dpi.wi.gov/fns/katrina.html
  
  
• Licensure for out-of-state educators (including a note to educators from the Gulf Coast): http://dpi.wi.gov/tepdl/oos.html
  
  
• Reporting of displaced students memo of September 30, 2005: http://dpi.wi.gov/pdf/katrina-pupilcount.pdf

State/Federal Government & Emergency Management

• Wisconsin Emergency Management contact page: http://emergencymanagement.wi.gov/section.asp?linkid=92&locid=18
  
  
• Governor's website (listings of how you can help): http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/section.asp?linkid=526&locid=19
  
  
• Toll-free Assistance Line for Evacuees: Milwaukee Impact 211 is prepared to serve as the Wisconsin Hurricane Relief Center. The 211 center will be able to answer calls from evacuees in Wisconsin in need of services at (866) 211-3380. They will be able to refer evacuees and family members to appropriate resources.
  
  
• Official Federal Katrina webpage: http://www.firstgov.gov/Citizen/Topics/PublicSafety/Hurricane_Katrina_Recovery.shtml#vgn-what-government-is-doing-vgn
  
  
• Other Federal agency websites:
  
  
  • Education: http://www.ed.gov/news/hurricane/index.html
  • CDC: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/
  • FEMA: http://www.fema.gov/
  • Homeland Security: http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/katrina.htm
  • USDA Nutrition Programs: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/
    
    
• U.S. Department of Education Secretary Spellings:
  
  
  • Memo to State Chief School Officers: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/050907.html
    
    
  • September 14 memo regarding federal Charter School Program flexibility and funding: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/050914.html
    
    
  • September 16 Summary of President Bush's Katrina education relief package: http://hurricanehelpforschools.gov/0916-factsheet.html
    
    
  • September 29 letter to Chief State School Officers on whether ED will waive NCLB accountability provisions regarding assessments and adequate yearly progress for areas impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/secletter/050929.html
    
    
• Senator Feingold letter to U.S. DOE Secretary Spellings requesting hurricane relief: http://dpi.wi.gov/pdf/spellings.pdf

How You Can Help

• The federal Department of Education (DOE) has established a "Hurricane Help for Schools" website. Hurricane Help for Schools can be accessed through the DOE's Web site at http://www.ed.gov/news/hurricane/index.html and will serve as a clearinghouse of resources for Americans who want to help the students displaced by the hurricane. Each week, the department's Web site logs millions of page views.
  
  Many schools are accepting students who cannot attend their own schools because of Hurricane Katrina. If your school is serving students displaced by the hurricane and if you need books, clothes, or other supplies, please state What You Need at http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/disasterrelief/schools/school-form.cfm. The name of your school, its address, and what you need will be posted on the What Schools Need page at http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/disasterrelief/schools/index.cfm.
  
  If you are a school, community or organization that is looking to send books, clothes, or other supplies to a school serving students displaced by Hurricane Katrina, please state What Supplies You Can Provide at http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/disasterrelief/organizations/org-form.cfm. The supplies you can provide, along with your organization's name and contact information, will be posted on the What Organizations are Offering Schools page at http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/disasterrelief/organizations/index.cfm.
  
  
• Superintendent Burmaster and Governor Doyle have encouraged schools, state residents, businesses and organizations to generously assist those impacted by Katrina. The most helpful contribution people can make at this time is financial donations to the relief effort through the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and other well-established relief organizations. At this time, the impacted states are not prepared to process independent offers of assistance. Therefore, school districts and others offering assistance can go to the following resources:
  
  

  Donate Money:

  • American Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org, (800) 435-7669 (English) or (800) 257-7575 (Spanish)
  • Salvation Army at http://www.salvationarmyusa.org, (800) 264-6412.
  • Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund at http://www.bushclintonkatrinafund.org
    
    

  Register a Home for Evacuee Relocation:

  • http://www.hurricanehousing.org
    
    

  Volunteer to Help (May be Contacted at a Later Date):

  • Salvation Army at http://www.salvationarmywi.org or http://www.salvationarmyusa.org.
  • American Red Cross at http://www.redcross.org
  • Wisconsin Emergency Assistance Volunteer Registry at: http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/preparedness/weavr
  • U.S. Department Health and Human Services at: http://volunteer.hhs.gov
    
    
    
• Affected states' relief websites:
  
  
  • Alabama Governor's Emergency Relief Fund at: http://www.servealabama.gov
  • State of Alabama donation page: http://as5.business.auburn.edu/ems/ems2.main_page
  • Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation at: http://www.louisianahelp.org.
  • Louisiana Department of Education donation page: http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/misc/donate.html
  • Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund at: http://www.mississippirecovery.com
  • State of Mississippi donation page: http://www.mississippirecovery.com/donate/
    
    
• Links to relief organizations are also listed on the Governor's website:
  http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/

Mental Health Resources (for educators, parents, caregivers, etc.)

• National Association of School Psychologists at: http://www.nasponline.org. This website provides resources to support the mental health needs of students relocating from the Gulf States. This organization has a history of providing quality information in the area of crisis response.
  
  
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center - Hurricane Katrina Aftermath Resources at: http://www.sprc.org. This organization compiled a variety of websites dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, including several in the areas of mental health and resources for schools.
  
  
• Child Trauma Academy at: http://www.childtrauma.org/CTAMATERIALS/katrina.asp.
  
  
• The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at: http://www.usuhs.mil/psy/hurricane.html.
  
  
• The Center for Mental Health in Schools at http://www.smhp.psych.ucla.edu/temphome.htm

Serving Homeless Students

• National Center for Homeless Education - Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts at: http://www.serve.org/nche. This website has resources for school staff that can be downloaded to help students cope with the trauma of the hurricane and homelessness.
  
  
• U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness at: http://www.ich.gov/

Head Start

• Waivers and funding related to Hurricane Katrina at: http://www.headstartinfo.org/publications/im05/im05_04.htm
  
• U.S. Administration for Children and Families Head Start Katrina Main Page at: http://www.headstartinfo.org/hurricane_rir.htm

College Board Accommodations

• The College Board is offering certain accommodations regarding the SAT and PSAT/NMSQT at: http://www.collegeboard.com/katrina/index.html

For questions about this information, contact Michael R. Bormett (608) 266-2804

Last updated on 2/26/2008 9:35:42 AM