The McKinney-Vento Act: Knowing and Implementing the Law

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The McKinney-Vento ActKnowing and Implementing
the Law

• nvn

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Todays Goals

• Become familiar with important concepts in the
  McKinney-Vento Act
• Eligibility
• Immediate Enrollment
• School Selection
• Transportation
• Unaccompanied Youth
• Coordination with Title IA
• Learn good practices and implementation
  strategies by networking with colleagues

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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 Act
• School access
• School stability
• Support for academic success
• Child-centered, best interest decision making
• Critical role of the local homeless education
  liaison

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NON-REGULATORY GUIDANCE
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Who Qualifies For Services?

• 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
  accommodations
• Living in emergency or transitional shelters
• Abandoned in hospitals

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Who Qualifies? (cont.)

• Awaiting foster care placement
• Living in a public or private place not designed
  for humans to live
• Living 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

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Determining EligibilityThe Ground Rules

• Reference NCHEs Determining Eligibility and
  Confirming Eligibility briefs at
  www.serve.org/nche/briefs.php
• 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

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Determining EligibilityThe Ground Rules (cont.)

• Use fixed, regular, and adequate as your guiding
  principles if the living arrangement does not
  meet all three criteria, it likely will be
  considered a homeless situation
• The list of examples given in the definition
  describes common homeless situations, but is not
  exhaustive

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Determining EligibilityFixed, Regular, and
Adequate

• Fixed Stationary, permanent, and not subject to
  change
• Regular Used on a predictable, routine, or
  consistent basis (e.g., nightly) consider the
  relative permanence
• Adequate Sufficient for meeting both the
  physical and psychological needs typically met in
  home environments
• Consider Can the student go to the SAME PLACE
  (fixed) EVERY NIGHT (regular) to sleep in a SAFE
  AND SUFFICIENT SPACE (adequate)?

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Determining EligibilityThe Process

• Step 1 Get the facts
• Sample enrollment questionnaires can be found at
  www.serve.org/nche/forum/eligibility.php
• Step 2 Analyze the facts
• Does 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?

What do the facts tell me?
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Determining EligibilityThe Process (cont.)

• Step 3 Get Additional Input
• Contact your State Coordinator
• Michael Williams mwilliams_at_doe.in.gov or
  317-234-4827
• Visit www.doe.in.gov/student-services/mckinney-v
  ento-homeless for contact information
• Contact the NCHE helpline at 800-308-2145 or
  homeless_at_serve.org

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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
• Considerations
• Why did the family move in together? Due to a
  crisis or by mutual choice as a plan for mutual
  benefit?
• How permanent is the living arrangement intended
  to be?
• Where would the family live if not doubling up?
• Is the living arrangement fixed, regular, and
  adequate?

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Determining EligibilityAwaiting Foster Care
Placement

• 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
• Use fixed, regular, and adequate as your
  guiding concepts

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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 Origin
• The school attended when permanently housed or
• The school in which the student was last enrolled

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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 parents or guardians 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

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School of Origin and Feasibility

• Feasibility factors listed in U.S. Department of
  Education Guidance
• The age of the child or youth
• The distance of a commute and the impact it may
  have on the student's education
• Personal safety issues
• A 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 location
• The time remaining in the school year

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How Is Feasibility Determined?

• Reference NCHEs Guiding the Discussion on School
  Selection brief at www.serve.org/nche/briefs.php
• The childs 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 students education

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Enrollment

• States and 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

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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

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Eligible or Not?

• Mike and his son, Ken, showed up at your school
  at the beginning of the year to enroll Ken.
  Included in your districts enrollment packet is
  a housing questionnaire. On the questionnaire,
  Mike checked yes to the question regarding
  sharing housing, indicating that they are living
  with Mikes parents who live in the area. Would
  you qualify Ken for McKinney-Vento?
• Eligible?
• Would you like to have additional information? If
  so, what questions would you ask?
• Questions?

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Transportation

• Districts must transport homeless students to and
  from the school of origin, at a parents or
  guardians request (or at the liaisons request
  for unaccompanied youth)
• If the students 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

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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

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Young Homeless Children

• State McKinney-Vento plans must describe
  procedures that ensure that 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
• The Head Start Act includes many provisions for
  serving young homeless children visit
  www.naehcy.org/legislation-and-policy/early-childh
  ood for more information
• 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 (IDEAs Child Find
  provision)

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Unaccompanied YouthThe Basics

• An unaccompanied youths living arrangement must
  meet the Acts 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

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Unaccompanied YouthThe Basics (cont.)

• Age limits
• Lower There is no lower age limit for
  unaccompanied youth
• Upper The upper age limit (as with all
  McKinney-Vento eligible students) is your states
  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 youths home life situations

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The Schools Charge

• Schools first and foremost are educational
  agencies
• The schools 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 students home life to
  educate him/her

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Who are Unaccompanied Children and Youth Under
the McKinney-Vento Act?

• Unaccompanied Youth children and Youth
  experiencing homelessness and not in the physical
  custody of a parent or guardian.
• Is there an age range?
• No. McKinney-Vento applies to all school-aged
  children and youth as defined by state law.
• Is there a citizenship requirement?
• No. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe (1982)
  makes it unlawful for schools to deny access
  to undocumented immigrants or ask about
  immigration status. McKinney-Vento must be
  equally applied to undocumented students.

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Who are Unaccompanied Children and Youth in your
Community?

• Family Separation
• Parental Incarceration
• Illness, hospitalization, death
• Economics
• Youth are leaving home or being asked to leave to
  free up resources for younger siblings.
• Pregnancy
• 10 of currently homeless female teenagers are
  pregnant.

• Abuse/Neglect
• 20-40 were sexually abused in their homes.
• 40-60 were physically abused.
• 21-53 have a history of child welfare placement.
• Family Dysfunction
• Over 2/3 of callers to the Runaway Hotline report
  at least one parent abuses drugs or alcohol.
• Over ½ of youth living in shelters report that
  their parents told them to leave or didnt care.
• Many youth have been thrown out because of their
  sexual orientation (20-40 identify as GLBTQ).

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Eligible or Not?

• Ashley shows up at your school to enroll herself
  without an adult. She tells you that she cant
  get along with her stepdad and had to leave home.
  Her mom calls the school and says Ashley just
  wants to live with her boyfriend. Would you
  qualify Ashley for McKinney-Vento?
• Eligible?
• Would you like to have additional information? If
  so, what questions would you ask?
• Questions?

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Unaccompanied YouthStrategies

• Reference NCHEs When Legal Guardians Are Not
  Present brief at www.serve.org/nche/briefs.php
• 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 visit www.serve.org/nche/downloads/too
  lkit/app_d.pdf for sample forms
• Become familiar with state and local policies
  related to unaccompanied youth (medical signature
  authority and reporting)
• Be willing to be flexible with students and
  provide extra supports

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The Title IA Set-AsideThe Basics

• Title IA of ESEA 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 dont 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

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Using Title IA Set-Aside Funds

• Set-aside funds can be used to provide
• Services to homeless students attending Title IA
  or non-Title IA schools that are comparable to
  those provided to non-homeless students in Title
  I schools
• Services to homeless students that are not
  ordinarily provided to other Title I students and
  that are not available from other sources,
  according to the need of the homeless student
  (e.g., comparable may not mean identical)
• Title I funds should be used to support the
  student in meeting the states academic standards

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Permissible UsagesARRA Guidance

• Used only when not available from other sources
• Partial list
• Clothing/shoes (school uniform/dress code/gym
  uniform)
• Fees to participate in the general education
  program
• School supplies
• Birth certificates necessary to enroll in school
• Medical/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 support
• Supporting parent involvement
• Supporting the position of the local liaison
• Full guidance (see question G-11)
  www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/guidance/title
  i-reform.pdf

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Prohibited Usages of Funds

• Transportation to/from the schoolof origin for
  the regular school day
• Rent
• Utilities
• Clothing for parents

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Access to Services

• Homeless students are automatically eligible to
  receive free school meals the USDA permits local
  liaisons and shelter directors to qualify
  homeless students for free meals by providing a
  list of names with effective dates
• IDEA includes special provisions for serving
  homeless children and youth with disabilities
  visit www.serve.org/nche/ibt/sc_spec_ed.php for
  more information
• 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

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Local Liaisons

• Local liaisons play a critical role in the
  implementation of the McKinney-Vento Act
• Every school district must designate a local
  homeless education liaison.
• Local liaison responsibilities include
• Identifying homeless children and youth
• Ensuring that homeless students can enroll
  immediately and participate fully in school

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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

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Get to Know NCHE

• NCHE is the U.S. Department of Educations
  homeless education technical assistance and
  information center
• NCHE has
• A comprehensive website www.serve.org/nche
• A toll-free helpline Call 800-308-2145 or e-mail
  homeless_at_serve.org
• A listserv visit www.serve.org/nche/listserv.php
  for subscription instructions
• Free resources Visitwww.serve.org/nche/products
  .php

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Get to know NAEHCY National Assn. for the
Education of Homeless Children and Youth

• http//naehcy.org/
• The National Association for the Education of
  Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) is the voice
  and social conscience for the education of
  children and youth experiencing homelessness.
  NAEHCY accomplishes this through advocacy,
  partnerships, and education.
• [phone] INFO_at_NAEHCY.ORG

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Dispute Resolution

• Whenever a dispute arises, the parent, guardian,
  or youth must be provided with a written
  explanation of the schools decision, including
  the right to appeal
• The school must refer the parent, guardian, or
  youth to the local liaison to carry out the
  dispute resolution process as expeditiously as
  possible, in accordance with the state plan

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Dispute Resolution (cont.)

• While a dispute is being resolved, the student
  must be admitted immediately into the requested
  school and provided with services
• Documentation should be kept for all local
  liaison interventions with parents, and not just
  formal disputes

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For more information

• State Coordinator for Homeless Educationmwilliam
  s_at_doe.in.gov
• NCHE website www.serve.org/nche
• NCHE helpline 800-308-2145 or homeless_at_serve.org
• NCHE National PartnerNational Association for
  the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
  (NAEHCY) www.naehcy.org