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IsMyEarlyChildhoodProgramaMcKinney-Vento“Preschool?”Formanyyoungchildrenexperiencinghomelessness,remainingintheschooloforiginprovidestheironlyaccesstopreschool;whenchildrenmoveintoanewcommunityduetohomelessness,enrollinginalocalpreschoolusuallyisimpossible,eitherbecausetherearenopreschoolprogramsavailable,orthosethatareavailablealreadyarefull.TheEveryStudentSucceedsAct(ESSA)amendedtheMcKinney-VentoActtoincludepreschoolsspecificallywithinthedefinitionof“schooloforigin.”iAsaresult,childrenexperiencinghomelessnesscanremaininthepreschooltheyattendedwhenpermanentlyhoused,orthepreschoolinwhichtheywerelastenrolled,ifthatisintheirbestinterest.iiThisrighttoremaininthesamepreschoolincludestherighttoreceivetransportationtopreschool(evenifpreschooltransportationisnottypicallyprovided)iii,andcontinuesforaslongasthechildishomeless,anduntiltheendoftheacademicyearinwhichthechildmovesintopermanenthousing.ivNeitherESSAnorU.S.DepartmentofEducation(ED)Guidanceincludesaspecificdefinitionof“preschool.”Todeterminewhetheraparticularearlychildhoodeducationprogramisa“preschool”underESSA,ahelpfulreferenceisthedefinitionEDusesforMcKinney-Ventodatacollection.vPertheU.S.DepartmentofEducation’sdatacollection,specificexamplesofpreschoolprogramsthatmeetthisdefinitioninclude:• PreschoolprogramsoperatedoradministeredbyanLEA;• HeadStartprogramsreceivingfundingfromanLEAorforwhichanLEAreceivesthegrant;• PreschoolspecialeducationservicesoperatedorfundedbytheLEAormandatedunderthe

IndividualswithDisabilitiesEducationAct;• PreschoolprogramsandservicesadministeredorfundedbytheLEAthroughtheuseofTitleIor

similargovernmentgrants;and• Home-basedearlychildhoodeducationalservicesfundedandadministeredbyanLEA.Theflowchartonthefollowingpageprovidesaguidetounderstandingthatdefinition.

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Doestheprogramservechildrenbetweenbirthand

fiveyears? No.

Not a preschool.

Doestheprogramreceivepublicfunding? Not a preschool.

Yes.

Isalocaleducationalagencyafinancialagent?DoesanLEAcontributefundingtotheprogram?(Providingfreespaceasanin-kinddonation,inandofitself,doesnotmaketheLEAafinancialagent.Payingforstaff,inwholeorinpart,doesmaketheLEAafinancialagent.)

Yes. A preschool.

Is an LEA an administrative agent? Does the LEA make decisions about the curriculum, services, staffing, or operations of the program?

No.

Is an LEA accountable for providing early childhood education services? Does a state or federal authority hold the LEA accountable for the program?

No.

Yes. A preschool.

Yes. A preschool.

Yes.

No.

Not a preschool.

No.

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Inadditiontoaddingpreschoolstothedefinitionofschooloforigin,ESSAalsoextendedschooloforiginrightstodesignatedreceivingschoolsatthenextgradelevelforallfeederschools.viThisraisesthequestionofwhenpreschoolsshouldbeconsideredtobefeederschools.BasedonthestatuteandU.S.DepartmentofEducationGuidance,thekeyquestioniswhetherthepreschoolisafeederschoolwithadesignatedreceivingschool.

i42U.S.C.§11432(g)(3)(I).ii42U.S.C.§11432(g)(3)(A).iii42U.S.C.§11432(g)(1)(J)(iii).iv42U.S.C.§11432(g)(3)(B).v[E]arlychildhoodeducationprogramsforchildrenaged0-5,fundedthroughtaxdollarsorotherpublicfunds,andforwhichtheLEAisafinancialoradministrativeagentorforwhichtheLEAisaccountableforprovidingearlychildhoodeducationservices.”ExamplesofpreschoolprogramsincludedinfederaldatacollectionincludepreschoolprogramsoperatedoradministeredbyanLEA;HeadStartprogramsreceivingfundingfromtheLEAorforwhichtheLEAisthegrantrecipient;preschoolspecialeducationservices,operatedorfundedbytheLEAormandatedundertheIndividualswithDisabilitiesEducationAct;preschoolprogramsandservicesadministeredorfundedbytheLEAthroughtheuseofTitleIorsimilargovernmentgrants;orhome-basedearlychildhoodeducationalservicesfundedandadministeredbyanLEA.”NationalCenterforHomelessEducation(2016).GuidetoReportingFederalData.nche.ed.gov/downloads/data-guide-15-16.pdf.vi42U.S.C.§11432(g)(3)(I).TheU.S.DepartmentofEducationofferedthefollowingexampleofafeederschool:“Forexample,astudentwaslastenrolledinSchoolAingrade5,whichisthefinalgradelevelservedbySchoolA.StudentsatSchoolAaredesignatedtoattendSchoolBbeginninginthenextgradelevel,grade6.TheschooloforiginforthisstudentwouldthereforeincludeSchoolAandthedesignatedreceivingschoolatthenextgradelevel,SchoolB.”U.S.DepartmentofEducation(2016).EducationofHomelessChildrenandYouthsProgramNon-RegulatoryGuidance,I-1.

Doallchildrencompletingthepreschoolprogramautomaticallyfeedintoadesignatedelementaryschoolforkindergarten?

Yes.

ThisISafeederschool,andchildrenhavetherighttoattendkindergarteninthedesignatedelementaryschoolastheirschooloforigin.

Dochildrencompletingthepreschoolattendmanydifferentelementaryschoolsforkindergarten,basedonfactorssuchasresidenceoralottery,ratherthanbasedonwheretheyattendedpreschool?

ThisisNOTafeederschool,andchildrendonothavetherighttoattendaparticularelementaryschoolforkindergartenastheirschooloforigin.However,eveninthiscase,theLEAmayselectthechild’skindergartenclassbasedonthechild’sbestinterest,andconsideringfactorssuchasthechild’smobility,placementofsiblings,trauma,andspecialneeds.

Yes.