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THE MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT:KNOWING AND
IMPLEMENTING THE LAW
National Center for Homeless Education
800-308-2145, [email protected]
THE CHILD’S CLASSROOM MAY BE THE ONLY PLACE WHERE THE
CHILD CAN EXPERIENCE QUIET, INTERACT WITH CHILDREN
HIS/HER AGE, AND EXPERIENCE SUCCESS…
School is the most normal activity that most children experience collectively…For homeless children it is much more than a learning environment. It is a place of safety, personal space, friendships, and support.
TODAY’S GOALS
Become familiar with important concepts in the McKinney-Vento Act Eligibility Immediate Enrollment School Selection Transportation Unaccompanied Youth Coordination with Title IA
Answer “yes” or “no” to the following:
Could you experience a flood, fire, tornado, or other natural disaster? Do you work in an area of the economy/job market where your job might become obsolete? Could you suffer from a long-term illness or accident without proper health benefits or other compensations? Do you live in a household with only one full-time wage earner? Are you behind in any monthly bills? Are housing costs in your area increasing faster than wages? Does anyone in your family struggle with addictions such as drugs or alcohol?
HOW DOES HOMELESSNESS HAPPEN?
Difficulty enrolling without records, or without a parent or guardian present for unaccompanied homeless youth
Frequent school changes
Falling behind in school -> not accruing credits on time
A lack of basic needs including food, clothing, and adequate housing
Stress, depression, trauma; and embarrassment and stigma related to their housing conditions
Difficulty attending school regularly
a lack of stable transportation
EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES THAT HOMELESS STUDENTS
FACE
THE MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT
Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; reauthorized by Title X, Part C of ESEA
Main themes of the McKinney-Vento ActSchool accessSchool stabilitySupport for academic successChild-centered, best interest decision makingCritical role of the local homeless education liaison
LOCAL LIAISONS
Local liaisons play a critical role in the implementation of the McKinney-Vento Act
Every Local Educational Agency (LEA) must designate a local homeless education liaison (includes State Chartered Schools)
Local liaison responsibilities include: Identifying homeless children and youth Ensuring that homeless students can enroll immediately and
participate fully in school
LOCAL LIAISONS (CONT.)
Informing parents, guardians, or youth of educational rights Supporting unaccompanied youth in school selection and dispute
resolution Linking homeless students with educational and other services,
including preschool and health services Ensuring the public posting of educational rights through the school
district and community; NCHE Educational Rights Posters are available at www.serve.org/nche/products.php
Ensuring that disputes are resolved promptly Collaborating with other district programs and community agencies
Children or youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including:Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing,
economic hardship, or similar reason (“doubling up”)Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping grounds
due to the lack of adequate alternative accommodationsLiving in emergency or transitional sheltersAbandoned in hospitals
WHO QUALIFIES FOR SERVICES?
Awaiting foster care placementLiving in a public or private place not
designed for humans to live: in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or a similar setting
Migratory children living in the above circumstances
Unaccompanied youth living in the above circumstances
WHO QUALIFIES? (CONT.)
DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY:THE GROUND RULES
Determinations are made on a case-by-case basis by examining the living arrangement of each child or youth
Some instances will be clear-cut; others will require further inquiry and then a judgment call
DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY:FIXED, REGULAR, AND
ADEQUATEFixed: Stationary, permanent, and not subject to changeRegular: Used on a predictable, routine, or consistent basis
(e.g., nightly); consider the relative permanenceAdequate: Sufficient for meeting both the physical and
psychological needs typically met in home environmentsConsider: Can the student go to the SAME PLACE (fixed) EVERY
NIGHT (regular) to sleep in a SAFE AND SUFFICIENT SPACE (adequate)?
Step 1: Get the factsEnrollment questionnaires
Step 2: Analyze the factsDoes the living situation fit into one of the specific examples
of homelessness listed in the law? Is the living arrangement another type of situation that is not
fixed, regular, and adequate?
DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY:THE PROCESS
Step 3: Get Additional InputContact your State CoordinatorContact the NCHE helpline at 800-308-2145 or
DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY:THE PROCESS (CONT.)
DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY: “DOUBLED-UP”
McKinney-Vento defines “doubled-up” as “sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason”
Did economic hardship force the family or youth to share the housing of others temporarily?
A shelter stay is not always an option: Shelters don’t exist in every community
Shelters often are full Shelter policies may create barriers Shelters may generate safety concerns Shelters may have stay limits Doubled-up arrangements often serve as temporary
shelter, but may not last or may place the family or youth in danger
MORE ON “DOUBLED UP”
Will Bolen lived with his wife and three school-age children in Milwaukee. They just moved to Chicago because Will received a promotion requiring him to move to where his company’s home office is located. He and his family are staying with his brother for a couple of weeks until the house they rented is available for them to move into.
HOMELESS? YES OR NO
Mariana’s mom struggles with substance abuse. As a result, she often has strangers in the home and participates regularly in activities that cause Mariana to feel highly anxious and unsafe. Eventually, Mariana came to the conclusion that she would be safer living on her own. She ran away, swearing she would never live with her mom again. She is now crashing on the couch of an older friend that she met at the mall last week.
HOMELESS? YES OR NO
Children in foster care face high residential and school mobility, academic challenges, educational discontinuity
Eligibility must be reviewed in the context of state and local child welfare policies; check with your State Coordinator for information relevant to your state
DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY:AWAITING FOSTER CARE
PLACEMENT
SCHOOL SELECTION
Students experiencing homelessness have the right to attend one of two schools:Local Attendance Area School
Any public school that students living in the same attendance area are eligible to attend
School of OriginThe school attended when permanently housed; orThe school in which the student was last enrolled
SCHOOL SELECTION (CONT.)
For school selection, a “best interest” determination must occur; ideally, the parents/guardians and school dialogue and come to an agreement; if there is a disagreement, the dispute resolution process is used
Best interest: keep homeless students in their schools of origin, to the extent feasible, unless this is against the parent’s or guardian’s wishes
Students can continue attending their school of origin the entire time they are homeless, and until the end of any school year in which they move into permanent housing
If a student becomes homeless in between school years, he or she can continue attending the school of origin forthe following school year
Feasibility factors listed in U.S. Department of Education Guidance:The age of the child or youthThe distance of a commute and the impact it may have on the
student's educationPersonal safety issuesA student's need for special instruction (e.g., special
education and related services)The length of anticipated stay in a temporary shelter or other
temporary locationThe time remaining in the school year
SCHOOL OF ORIGIN AND FEASIBILITY
HOW IS FEASIBILITY DETERMINED?
The child’s best interest is at the forefront
Determining best interest is a case-by-case determination
There is no specific time or distance limit placed on transporting a homeless child to the school of origin; consider the unique situation of the student and how the transportation willaffect the student’s education
ENROLLMENT
Districts must develop, review, and revise policies to remove barriers to the school enrollment and retention of homeless children and youth
McKinney-Vento defines enrollment as attending classes and participating fully in school activities
The McKinney-Vento Act supersedes state or local law or practice when there is a conflict [U.S. Constitution, Article VI]
ENROLLMENT (CONT.)
Homeless children and youth have the right to enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documentation normally required for enrollment
If a student does not have immunizations, or immunization or medical records, the local liaison must assist immediately in obtaining them, and the student must be enrolled in the interim
Districts must transport homeless students to and from the school of origin, at a parent’s or guardian’s request (or at the liaison’s request for unaccompanied youth)
If the student’s temporary residence and the school of origin are in the same district, that district must arrange transportation
If the student is living outside the district of origin, the district where the student is living and the district of origin must determine how to divide the responsibility and cost, or they must share the responsibility and cost equally
TRANSPORTATION
TRANSPORTATION (CONT.)
Districts must provide students in homeless situations with transportation services comparable to those provided to other students
Districts can consider other safe transportation options beyond the school bus
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Whenever a dispute arises, the parent, guardian, or youth must be provided with a written explanation of the school’s decision, including the right to appeal
DISPUTE RESOLUTION (CONT.)
While a dispute is being resolved, the student must be admitted immediately into the requested school and provided with services
YOUNG HOMELESS CHILDREN
Homeless children have access to public preschool programs
Local liaisons must ensure that families and children have access to Head Start, Even Start, and other public preschool programs administered by the school district
IDEA and McKinney-Vento staff must work together to ensure that young homeless children who may need special education services are identified, evaluated,and served (IDEA’s Child Find provision)
UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH:THE BASICS
An unaccompanied youth’s living arrangement must meet the Act’s definition of homeless for him/her to qualify for McKinney-Vento services
The McKinney-Vento Act defines unaccompanied youth as a youth “not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian”
Local liaisons must support unaccompanied youth in school selection and dispute resolution processes
UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH:THE BASICS (CONT.)
“Age limits”Lower: There is no lower age limit for
unaccompanied youthUpper: The upper age limit (as with all McKinney-
Vento eligible students) is your state’s upper age limit for public education
A youth can be eligible regardless of whether he/she was asked to leave the home or “chose” to leave; sometimes there is “more than meets the eye” for youth’s home life situations
THE SCHOOL’S CHARGE
Schools first and foremost are educational agenciesThe school’s primary responsibility and goal is to enroll and
educate, in accordance with the McKinney-Vento Act (federal); federal law supersedes state and local law
Schools do not need to understand and/or agree with all aspects of a student’s home life to educate him/her
UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH:STRATEGIES
Develop caretaker forms, self-enrollment forms, and/or other forms to replace typical proof of guardianship; forms should be crafted carefully so they do not create further barriers or delay enrollment;
Be willing to be flexible with students and provide extra supports
THE TITLE IA SET-ASIDE:THE BASICS
Title IA requires districts to set aside Title IA funds to be used to serve homeless students; there is no federally mandated amount/method of calculation
Homeless students are automatically eligible for Title IA services, even if they don’t attend a Title IA school or meet the academic standards required of other students for eligibility
Homeless students are eligible to receive Title IA support for the rest of any academic year in which they become permanently housed
USING FUNDS FOR HOMELESS STUDENTS
#1 McKinney-Vento Sub-grant Awards 2014-2017Alamogordo Los Lunas T or CAlbuquerque MagdalenaBelen GadsdenDeming Moriarty/EdgewoodFarmington Rio RanchoGallup Santa FeLas Cruces Socorro
#2 Title 1 Homeless Set-aside funds can be used to support homeless student’s needs
USING FUNDS FOR HOMELESS STUDENTS
PERMISSIBLE USAGES FOR BOTH TITLE 1 AND
MCKINNEY-VENTO $:
Used only when not available from other sourcesClothing/shoes (school uniform/dress code/gym uniform)Fees to participate in the general education programSchool suppliesBirth certificates necessary to enroll in schoolMedical/dental services (glasses, hearing aids,
immunizations)Counseling for issues affecting learning
Outreach services to students living in shelters, motels, and other temporary residences
Extended learning time or tutoring supportSupporting parent involvementSupporting the position of the local liaisonTransportation to/from the school of origin for the regular
school day while a student is experiencing homelessness
ACCESS TO SERVICES
Homeless students are automatically eligible to receive free school meals IMMEDIATELY; the USDA permits local liaisons and shelter directors to qualify homeless students for free meals by providing a list of names with effective dates
Undocumented students have the right to attend public school (Plyler v. Doe) and are covered by the McKinney-Vento Act to the same extent as other eligible students
WHAT DOES HOMELESSNESS LOOK LIKE IN YOUR
SCHOOLS?
School/Homeless Count
Albuquerque - 5,398
Alamogordo - 115Belen - 226Bernalillo - 225Central Consolidated - 276
Gallup - 505Cesar Chavez HS - 12
School/Homeless Count
Hatch - 16Hobbs - ? Rio Rancho - 490Las Cruces - 322Lordsburg - 26Lovington - 21Silver City - 128
WHAT DOES HOMELESSNESS LOOK LIKE IN YOUR
SCHOOLS?Socorro - 21Taos - 17Roswell - 80 Santa Fe – 1,242
Espanola - 0Deming - 340 Portales - 0
FOR MORE INFORMATION
State Coordinator for Homeless Education:Dana Malone
NCHE website: www.serve.org/nche
NCHE helpline: 800-308-2145 or [email protected]
NCHE National Partner:National Association for the Education of Homeless
Children and Youth (NAEHCY): www.naehcy.org