Empowering educators to protect every child’s right to education, even when they can’t be easily found, using Thomson Reuters® CLEAR.
Highlights
- Sycamore Community School District used Thomson Reuters® CLEAR to quickly locate a missing family.
- CLEAR’s License Plate Recognition and comprehensive public‑records data provided immediate, actionable insights.
- The district now relies on CLEAR for residency verification, fraud detection, and ongoing support for families.
For school districts across America, ensuring every eligible student attends school isn’t just a moral obligation but a legal requirement. The McKinney-Vento Act protects the educational rights of children experiencing homelessness, mandating that districts provide transportation and support services. But fulfilling this requirement presents a significant challenge: How do you help families when you can’t locate them?
Patty New, Registrar for Sycamore Community School District in Cincinnati, Ohio, faced exactly this situation. A family experiencing housing instability had disappeared after missing nearly two weeks of school. Traditional methods such as phone calls, home visits, even checking their last known hotel, had all failed. Time was running out, and the children’s education hung in the balance.
That’s when New turned to Thomson Reuters® CLEAR and discovered a solution that would transform how her district handles these critical cases.
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The challenge: When traditional methods fall short
The solution: Location intelligence that works
Why Sycamore Community Schools chose Thomson Reuters CLEAR
Every child deserves their education
The challenge: When traditional methods fall short
The case began with a family evicted from their apartment mid-winter. Despite the district’s efforts to connect them with community housing resources, the children’s attendance became sporadic. The mother struggled to balance work and getting her kids to school while managing temporary housing.
Then, in May, the situation deteriorated. The building principal reported the children hadn’t attended school for nearly two weeks. Multiple contact attempts failed. Even visiting their last known location yielded nothing.
“We heard through the grapevine that the family was living in their car,” New recalls.
That was the lightbulb moment for me. I thought if I could find their car, I could locate the family.
Registrar, Sycamore Community School District
Before CLEAR, this scenario meant days or even weeks of investigation involving multiple staff members and school resource officers. “You’re just throwing darts at that point,” New explains.
The solution: Location intelligence that works
New turned to CLEAR’s License Plate Recognition (LPR) tool—an innovative feature that links nationwide location information, including surveillance camera data, with vehicle ownership data.
The process was straightforward: She ran a CLEAR report to identify any vehicle registered to the parent, then searched the LPR tool for that license plate number. The results were immediate and actionable.
“I was able to see her car parked multiple nights in a row at the same hotel,” New says. Armed with this information, the district quickly re-established contact with the family and provided transportation that enabled the children to finish the school year.
Using CLEAR, I was able to locate the missing family in just a few minutes.
Registrar, Sycamore Community School District
Why Sycamore Community Schools chose Thomson Reuters CLEAR
Choosing CLEAR wasn’t just about solving one case, it was about creating a sustainable, efficient way to verify residency and support students.
Time and resource efficiency: According to Brad Lovell, Assistant Superintendent of Operations, the economic advantages are clear. “When it comes to getting a child in a classroom and meeting our accountability measures for ensuring kids are learning, we could justify the cost of using CLEAR ten times over.”
Accelerating residency investigations enables district staff to focus on their core responsibilities rather than spending hours—or days—on manual tracking efforts.
Trust and confidence: The quality of information CLEAR provides has transformed internal relationships. “My confidence in CLEAR is huge,” New says. When making difficult decisions about student withdrawals or residency qualifications, she can now show building secretaries concrete evidence. “They don’t tend to challenge it. That has really helped strengthen the relationship between the district office and the schools.”
Comprehensive capabilities: Beyond emergency location services, Sycamore uses CLEAR for district-wide residency verification, spotting fraudulent leases, and setting alerts for McKinney-Vento families’ address changes. “I’m able to call and congratulate them on finding a house and let them know they can finish the school year,” New explains—turning what could be an adversarial interaction into a supportive one.
Exceptional support: While technology matters, New emphasizes the human element. Her Thomson Reuters representative has been “fantastic,” providing quick answers whenever she needs help figuring something out.
Every child deserves their education
Every child deserves access to quality education. Educators share a common commitment: when students walk through the door, they should receive the same opportunities as any other child. The priority is clear: making sure the students who belong in school are there every day.
For many, that means focusing on what can be controlled: ensuring attendance and removing barriers. Tools like Thomson Reuters CLEAR make that possible by providing the location intelligence and efficiency schools need to meet their responsibilities under McKinney-Vento and deliver on the promise of education for every child.
Read more about this case study here.
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