McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
Definition of Homelessness (McKinney-Vento Act Sec. 725(2);
42 U.S.C 11435(2))
Policies and Procedures
Dissemination of Educational Rights
Identifying Homeless Students
Eligibility of Homeless Students for Title I Services
Educational and Related Opportunities
School Selection
Written Explanation of the Denial of School Selection
Immediate Enrollment of Students
How to Help with Enrollment of Homeless Students
Enrollment of Unaccompanied Youth and Notice of Appeal
Enrollment of Students Pending Resolution of Disputes
Potential Enrollment Barriers and Possible Solutions
Obtaining School Records
Maintenance of Records
Immunizations and Immunization Records
Coordination of Services
Comparable Services
Transportation
Warning Signs of Homelessness
Typical Stressful Experiences of Children in Homeless Situations
Possible Reactions of Homeless Children to Stress
District Homeless Liaison’s Role
Campus Homeless Liaison’s Role
What the Principal Can Do
What the Teacher Can Do
What the Counselor Can Do
What the Support Staff Can Do
Section 9
Parents Information………………………………………………...34-36
Questions Parents May Ask
Important Records for Parents in Homeless Situations to Keep
What Peers and Their Families Can Do
Appendix
A
Student Residency Questionnaire
Appendix
B
Resources
Appendix
C
Campus Self – Assessment Guide
McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act
Definition of Homelessness
(McKinney-Vento Act Sec.
725(2); 42 U.S.C 11435(2))
Policies and Procedures
Dissemination of Educational Rights
The McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (Subtitle B-Education for Homeless Children and Youth),
reauthorized in January 2002, ensures educational rights and protections for
children and youth experiencing homelessness. Services to homeless
children are required by Local Educational Agencies in the No Child Left Behind
Act, and are primarily found under the requirements of the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Education Assistance Act of 2002 (Title X, Part C No Child Left Behind
Act) and under Title I.
Definition of Homelessness
(McKinney-Vento Act Sec. 725(2); 42 U.S.C 11435(2))
(A)
means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate
nighttime residence…; and
(B)
includes—
(i)
children and youths who are sharing the
housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a
similar reason; or living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds
due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or
transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care
placement;
(ii)
children and youths who have a primary
nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or
ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings …
(iii)
children and youths who are living in cars,
parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train
stations, or similar settings; and
(iv)
migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this
subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses
(i) through (iii).
McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act, Sec. 722(g); 42 U.S.C. 11432(g):
Students must be provided the opportunity to enroll in, and
have full and equal opportunity to succeed in, the schools of
Schools must not provide services in settings within a
school that segregate homeless children and youth from other children and
youth, except as is temporarily necessary. Homelessness alone is not
sufficient reason to separate students from the mainstream school
environment. States that receive McKinney-Vento assistance (as
All schools within the
Identifying Homeless Students
Eligibility of Homeless
Students for Title I Services
Educational and Related
Opportunities
Children and youth in homeless situations are difficult to
identify for many reasons and often go unnoticed by school personnel.
Students and parents may try to hide their situation because they are
embarrassed by their homelessness. In addition, the fear of having
children taken away often prevents families from informing school officials of
their living circumstances. Unaccompanied youth may not report their
homeless status for fear of being returned to unsafe family environments.
Children and youth who are not enrolled in school and who are not living in
shelters are even more invisible to schools and their communities. Yet these
students must be identified as homeless if they are to enroll, attend, and
succeed in school. The law, therefore, requires all school districts,
ensured by the District Homeless Liaison and in coordination with school
personnel and other agencies, to identify students in homeless
situations. Identifying students in homeless situations is also an
important way to create greater awareness of homelessness in the school
district and community.
Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Sec.
1115(b)(2)(E); 20 U.S.C. 6315(b)(2)(E):
A child or youth that is homeless and is attending
The Campus Liaisons or other staff members must inform
parents or guardians of educational and related opportunities available to
their children and provide them with meaningful opportunities to participate in
the education of their children. Notification of the educational rights and
opportunities may be done in part through the posting of posters. Campus
Homeless Liaisons may also use home visits and shelter visits in order to
encourage family participation in educational activities and programs.
School Selection
Written Explanation of the
Denial of School Selection
Homeless students may choose to enroll in any public school
that students living in the same attendance area are eligible to attend, or in
their school of origin.
Changing schools greatly impedes students’ academic and
social growth. A “rule of thumb” is that it takes a child four to six
months to recover academically after changing schools. Highly mobile
students have also been found to have lower test scores and lower overall
academic performance than peers who do not change schools. Therefore, the
law requires that we do what is in the best interest of the child, including
keeping a child in the school of origin, to the extent feasible unless it is
against the parent’s or guardian’s wishes. In the case of an
unaccompanied youth, the District Director of Student Services (766-1972) will
assist with the placement and enrollment of the youth, and must take the
youth’s wishes into account.
District Director of Student Services (766-1972) must
provide a written explanation of the decision and the right to appeal if a
student is sent to a school other than that requested by a parent or guardian,
or, in the case of an unaccompanied youth, at the request of the Campus or
District Homeless Liaison. The choice regarding placement shall be made
regardless of whether the child or youth lives with the homeless parents or has
been temporarily placed elsewhere.
Immediate Enrollment of
Students
How to Help with Enrollment
of Homeless Students
Enrollment of Unaccompanied
Youth and Notice of Appeal
Enrollment of Students
Pending Resolution of Disputes
Potential Enrollment Barriers
and Possible Solutions
Children and youth experiencing homelessness often do not
have the documents ordinarily required for school enrollment. However,
school may be the only opportunity for children and youth to benefit from a
stable environment, uninterrupted adult attention peer relations, academic
stimulation, and reliable meals. Immediately enrolling students in
homeless situations in school provides stability and avoids separating children
from school for days or weeks while documents are located.
·
To protect privacy, take the family to a private location for
enrollment.
·
Offer help in completing forms. Hesitation may indicate an inability to read.
·
Assure parent(s) their child can enroll even
if the family doesn’t have a “regular place to live” right now.
·
Enroll the child immediately (without medical
records). Ask the name of the last school attended and call for records.
·
Complete the Student Residency
Questionnaire and the Homeless Student Notification and fax to Federal
Programs. Necessary paper work will be completed and recorded by Federal
Programs, and then the form will be faxed back to the campus.
·
If school records are missing, solicit the help of a teacher
or counselor in assessing academic status to avoid misplacement.
·
Give the child paper and pencils and other
important school supplies.
·
Arrange for lunch and breakfast.
·
Be sensitive, patient, calm and reassuring. You can
make a difference.
The Campus Homeless Liaison or
trained school staff must help unaccompanied youth choose and enroll in a
school after considering the youth’s wishes, and provide youth with notice of
their right to appeal an enrollment decision that is not their choice. The
Campus Homeless Liaisons and the District Director of Student Services
(766-1972)
must ensure that unaccompanied youth are immediately enrolled in school pending
resolution of disputes that might arise over school enrollment or placement.
Unaccompanied youth have the right to:
·
Remain in their school of origin (to the
extent feasible) or attend any public school that students living in the same
attendance area are eligible to attend;
·
Receive notice from the District Director of
Student Services (766-1972) of their right to appeal an enrollment decision
that is not their choice;
·
Attend classes and participate fully in school
activities immediately, even if they do not have a parent or guardian to enroll
them or have required documents, such as school records, proof of residency, or
other documents;
·
Be free from segregation, isolation, and stigmatization;
·
Have comparable access to school meals,
English language services, vocational and technical education, gifted and
talented services, special education, Head Start, Even Start, pre-school, and
Title I services; and
·
Have disputes resolved promptly and attend the
school they choose while disputes are pending.
If a dispute arises over school selection or enrollment in
a school, the child or youth shall be immediately admitted to the school in
which enrollment is sought, pending resolution of the dispute.
The child, youth, parent, or guardian shall be referred to the District
Director of Student Services (766-1972), who shall carry out the dispute
resolution process as expeditiously as possible as in accordance with the
Enrollment Disputes section of the McKinney-Vento Act as follows:
(i) The child or youth
shall be immediately admitted to the school in which enrollment is sought,
pending resolution of the dispute;
(ii) The parent or the guardian of
the child or youth shall be provided with a written explanation of the school’s
decision regarding school selection or enrollment, including the rights of the
parent, guardian, or youth to appeal the decision;
(iii)
The child, youth, parent, or guardian shall be
referred to the Director of Student Services, who shall carry out the dispute
resolution process;
(iv)
In the case of an unaccompanied youth, the District Administration shall
ensure that the youth is immediately enrolled in school pending resolution of
the dispute.
This chart provides useful
information; however, enrollment may not be prohibited if barriers cannot be
addressed.
|
Potential Enrollment Barriers |
Possible Solutions |
|
Residency Requirements |
-Affidavit -Hotel or motel receipt -Letter from shelter, community agency,
or parent verifying homelessness and indicating location of residence |
|
Original birth certificate Requirement |
-Other original documents:
baptismal record, passport, immigration certificate, notice of birth, or
verification of birthdate from the hospital where
the child was born -Copies of school records, birth
certificate, or birthdate verification from
appropriate social service agency -Affidavit |
|
Social Security Card or Number |
800-772-1213). |
|
School records, including special
education IEPs |
|
|
Potential Enrollment Barriers |
Possible Solutions |
|
Health records and immunization |
If no records exist or immunizations
have not been received, the Campus Homeless Liaison or Campus Nurse will help
the parents in obtaining the necessary immunizations and/or records.
This is a requirement of liaisons, according to the McKinney-Vento Act. |
|
Parent or guardianship verification |
|
|
Unaccompanied youth |
|
Most educators feel a connection to the students they
teach. They want the best for them. However, few educators have had
the experience of being homeless and may not be aware of what it is like to be
homeless. They may not know the telltale signs of homelessness.
When a student is identified as homeless, the teacher should be told privately
and confidentially. Sensitivity to homeless issues must be nurtured and
concrete strategies to meet the education needs of homeless students should be
implemented.