McKinney-Vento: Getting into the Issues

Compliance Meetings for LEAs

Diana Bowman, Interim Coordinator, NC HEP; Director, NCHE

dbowman@serve.org – 336-315-7453Jan Moore, Program Specialist, NCHE

jmoore@serve.org – 800-308-2145

McKinney-Vento Act

Main themes: •School access•School stability•Support for academic success•Child-centered, best interest decision making•Case-by-case determinations•Critical role of the homeless liaison

• All homeless children and youth must be identified

• The Urban Institute estimates that approximately 10% of all children experiencing poverty will experience homelessness in a year

• School districts are reporting increases nationally in the number of needy children

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/01/education/01school.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Identification

• Outreach is key – posters, key contacts (schools, shelters, hotels, motels, campgrounds, law enforcement, food banks, medical clinics, banks)

• Make schools welcoming environments• School staff awareness• MV information in school district handbooks• Database of student addresses

Ideas for Identification

• NCHE’s Determining Eligibility brief www.serve.org/nche/briefs.php

• Some instances are clear; others require judgment call• Use “fixed, regular, and adequate” as your standard• Follow a process– Get the facts– Analyze the facts

• Is the living situation listed in the MV definition?• Is the living situation another kind of situation that

is not fixed, regular, and adequate?– Get additional input, as needed

Determining Eligibility

• Doubled-up situations: “Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason”– Why did the family move in together?– How permanent is the arrangement meant to be?– Is it fixed, regular, and adequate?

• “Awaiting foster care placement”– Collaborate with your local child welfare

community– Consider whether the placement is temporary /

emergency or intended to be permanent

Determining Eligibility

• “Substandard housing”– Communities vary; evaluate housing according to local

standards/norms, e.g., building codes, definition of substandard, etc.

– Sample considerations:• Health and safety concerns• Number of occupants per square foot• Age of occupants• State and local building codes

– Collaborate with local housing agencies to establish guidelines that incorporate state and local legal requirements and community standards.

Determining Eligibility

John had been living with his parents in permanent housing in District A when their house was foreclosed on. John’s family moved in temporarily with relatives in District B. Since John is no longer living in District A, his parents enrolled him in District B as a permanently housed student. The local liaison in District B spoke with John about his living situation, but neither he nor his parents consider themselves homeless.

Scenario: John

• Would you qualify John as eligible under McKinney-Vento? Why or why not?

• How would you discuss John’s eligibility with his family?

• If the two families live together for a few months and decide to purchase a home together because they have more buying power and it would make things more affordable for them in the long term, would this change things?

Scenario: John (cont.)

• Homeless students may attend one of two schools:– School of Origin: School the child/youth attended when

permanently housed or school in which child/youth last enrolled– Local Attendance Area School: Any public school that

nonhomeless students living in the attendance area in which the child/youth is actually living are eligible to attend

• Best Interest: In determining the best interest, the local educational agency shall to the extent feasible, keep a homeless child or youth in the school of origin, except when doing so is contrary to the wishes of the child’s or youth’s parent or guardian.

School Selection

• Students can stay in their school of origin the entire time they are homeless, and until the end of any academic year in which they move into permanent housing

• If a student becomes homeless in between academic years, he or she may continue in the school of origin for the following academic year

• If a student is sent to a school other than that requested by a parent or guardian, the district must provide a written explanation and the right to appeal

School Selection

• Feasibility criteria in the U.S. Department of Education’s July 2004 Policy Guidance:– age of the child or youth– distance of a commute and the impact it may have on

the student’s education– personal safety issues– student’s need for special instruction (e.g., special

education and related services)– length of anticipated stay in the temporary location– time remaining in the school year

• Student-centered, individualized determination

Feasibility

• How permanent does the family’s living situation appear?• How deep are the child’s ties to current school?• How strong is the child academically?• Does one school have programs and activities that address

the unique needs or interests of the student that the other school does not have?

• Would the timing of the school transfer coincide with a logical juncture such as after testing, after an event that is significant to the child, or at the end of the school year?

• How would the length of the commute impact the child?• Are there any safety issues to consider?

Guiding the Discussion on School Selection: www.serve.org/nche/briefs.php

School Selection: Key Questions

Ronald , whose parents are deceased, is a senior who has moved to District A to try to make it on his own. Previously, he was living with his grandfather in District B, which is at best a 1 ½ hour commute each way. He really wants to continue to attend school in District B to be with his peers, but he is a struggling student who has had many attendance problems. District A also has some programs that might better meet his academic needs.

Scenario: Ronald

• What are key feasibility considerations?• What additional information do you need?• What is in Ronald’s best interest?• If he disagrees, what will you do?

Scenario: Ronald (cont.)

• LEAs must provide homeless students transportation to their school of origin, at a parent’s or guardian’s request (or at the liaison’s request for an unaccompanied youth)

• If the student’s temporary residence and the school of origin are in the same LEA, that LEA must provide or arrange transportation; if the student is living outside of the school of origin’s LEA, then the LEA where the student is living and the SOO’s LEA must determine how to divide the responsibility and cost, or they must share them equally

Transportation

• In addition to providing transportation to the SOO, LEAs must provide homeless students with transportation services comparable to those provided to other students

• School districts must eliminate barriers to the school enrollment and retention of students experiencing homelessness (including transportation barriers)

Transportation

• Develop collaborative relationships - create buy-in• Re-route school buses, including special education

and magnet school buses• Develop formal or informal agreements with LEAs

where children cross district lines• Reimburse parents (or youth) for gas• Link homeless students with carpools• Explore community resources

Transportation Strategies

• Homeless children have the right to enroll immediately, even if they do not have required documents

• If a student does not have immunizations or immunization or medical records, the liaison must assist with obtaining them and the student must be enrolled in the interim

• Enrolling schools obtain school records from the previous school; schools must make their records available

Enrollment

• SEAs and LEAs must develop, review, and revise policies to remove barriers to the enrollment and retention of homeless children and youth

• Federal law supersedes state and local laws where there is a conflict [U.S. Constitution, Article VI]

Enrollment

• The terms “enroll” and “enrollment” include attending classes and participating fully in school activities.

• Schools must provide students with a free, appropriate public education; therefore, schools must make an appropriate placement decision for McKinney-Vento eligible students upon their enrollment

Enrollment

Brandon has struggled since he and his mom left their abusive home situation and moved to a domestic violence shelter about 100 miles away. He enrolled in the local school, but his mom does not want any of Brandon’s school records to be transferred there because she is scared Brandon’s father will find out where they are living. The enrolling school staff suspects that Brandon may have an IEP because Brandon’s mom said he was put in a special classroom after he caused a lot of problems in his regular classroom.

Scenario: Brandon

• What steps should Brandon’s enrolling school take to gather needed information and make an appropriate initial classroom placement?

Scenario: Brandon

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

• MV defines UY as a youth “not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian”

• Living arrangement must meet the Act’s definition of homeless to qualify for McKinney-Vento services

• No lower age limit; upper age limit (as with all McKinney-Vento eligible students) is your state’s upper age limit for public education• North Carolina’s upper age limit = 21

• Can be eligible regardless of whether he/she was asked to leave the home or chose to leave; remember that sometimes there is “more than meets the eye” in a youth’s home life situation.

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (cont)

• Train all district and school staff who work with youth (enrollment staff, secretaries, guidance counselors, principals, teachers) on the definition, rights, and needs of unaccompanied youth

• Develop caretaker forms, self-enrollment forms for unaccompanied youth, and other forms to replace typical proof of guardianship; such forms should be crafted carefully so they do not create further barriers or delay enrollment; visit www.serve.org/nche/downloads/toolkit/app_d.pdf for sample forms

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (cont)

In North Carolina:• Schools are mandatory reporters of suspected abuse;

schools are NOT required under law to report runaways.• Medical consent– Emergency care can be given to a minor of any age

without parental consent if this is deemed medically necessary by a physician

– Students age 18 and older can consent to their own medical care

– Married minors are emancipated and can grant consent for their own healthcare

16-year-old Delores comes to enroll in your school in March. She says she left home because she can’t get along with her stepfather and is staying with a girlfriend. Her mom wants her to come home, says she as a perfectly good home, and does not want her to enroll in another school. In addition, it is so late in the school year, that she is unlikely to complete the coursework needed to attain full credit for some of her courses.

Scenario: Delores

• Should the school enroll Delores?• How do you handle the mother’s protest?• If you decide to enroll her, how would you

handle the challenges of accumulating credit?• What would you do to help Delores beyond

her school needs?• What other programs and agencies should be

involved?

Scenario: Delores (cont.)

• Liaisons must ensure that families and children have access to Head Start, Even Start, and other public preschool programs administered by the LEA

• Head Start was reauthorized in December 2007; many provisions address serving homeless preschool aged children

Preschool

• Homeless students must have access to services for which they are eligible

• Undocumented children and youth have the same right to attend public school as U.S. citizens (Plyler vs. Doe) and are covered by the McKinney-Vento Act

• US DA policy allows homeless students immediate access to free meals upon identification by liaisons or shelter providers

Access to Services

• Any student who is homeless and attending any school in the district is eligible for Title IA services• LEAs must set aside funds as are necessary to provide services

comparable to those provided to children in Title IA schools to serve homeless children who do not attend participating schools• LEAs can choose to provide services not ordinarily provided to

other Title I students that are not available from other sources• Title I funds cannot be used for transportation to the school of

origin, but can be used for other transportation needs of homeless students

Access to Services – Title I

• Additional instructional services in Title I schools or non-Title I schools

• Partial support for the liaison position if Title I duties are performed

• Tutoring programs in shelters• Eyeglasses• Field trips• Uniforms• Transportation to the school of origin once housed for

remainder of the school yearX No prom dressesX No rent and utilities for families

Title IA Set Aside Funds

• National Center for Homeless Education website: National Center for Homeless Education website: www.serve.org/nchewww.serve.org/nche

• NCHE helpline: 800-308-2145 or NCHE helpline: 800-308-2145 or homeless@serve.orghomeless@serve.org• Other national organizations:Other national organizations:

NAEHCY (NAEHCY (www.naehcy.orgwww.naehcy.org))NLCHP (NLCHP (www.nlchp.orgwww.nlchp.org))

A Unique Professional Development OpportunityA Unique Professional Development OpportunityNAEHCY’s 21st Annual ConferenceNAEHCY’s 21st Annual Conference

November 14-17, 2009November 14-17, 2009Denver, CODenver, CO

http://www.naehcy.orghttp://www.naehcy.org

For More Information