Presentation Transcript

1. Presented by David Ray, Region 10 Education Service Center and Barbara Wand James, The University of Texas at Austin, Charles A. Dana Center, Texas Homeless Education Office
2. A superintendent says transportation to the school of origin isn’t feasible… A principal insists Jamie is no longer eligible for McKinney-Vento because she was doubling up with the same family last school year… A parent is on your case about having their child ride public transportation to school… Who’s right? Better CALL THE LAW!
3. Sample Scenario… The chicken experiencing homelessness crossed the road. Your Superintendent questions the legality of this. Your response?... Call the Guidance!
4. Sample Correct Response… Excerpt: Policy Guidance Question Z-2 reads“Must a chicken experiencing homelessness enroll her child(ren) in school?Yes. The McChicken-Vento Act requires a chicken experiencing homelessness to enroll her child(ren) in school.”Because the child’s school is located on the other side of the road, the chicken had to cross the road. Citation: Policy Guidance Question Z-2
5. Let’s Practice!
6. A teacher from one of the schools in your district calls you, the local liaison, to inform you that the principal in her school has created a special “homeless class” at each grade level. All homeless students in that grade are placed in that class. The teacher asks you to clarify if this is acceptable. Your response?... Call the Law! (hint – the answer is in Section 721…)
7. Your district’s Director of Migrant Education approaches you, the Homeless Liaison, about ensuring that all migrant students in the district are granted McKinney-Vento eligibility. You explain that migrant students aren’t automatically eligible for McKinney-Vento students, only migrant students who live in circumstances described in the definition of homeless children and youth. The Migrant Director wants to know where this is stated? Your response?... Call the Law! (hint – the answer is in Section 725…)
8. LET’S BEGIN!
9. You are new to the position of Homeless Liaison. You are preparing to present to Title I and other staff in your district. Your district’s Director of Federal Programs is very strict about using legislative wording and citations when presenting something as a requirement to school staff. You want to let staff know what the law says are your duties, but want to make sure you get the wording and citation right. Your response?... Call the Law!
10. Stacy came to enroll in one of the schools in your district last week. You, the local liaison, learned that Stacy’s mom, a single parent struggling with addiction, had disappeared a month ago and Stacy had been staying at different friends’ homes since then. You allowed Stacy to enroll herself as an unaccompanied homeless youth. Yesterday, the principal at Stacy’s school calls you and insists that you never should have enrolled Stacy because her mom still has legal custody, so Stacy is not unaccompanied and, therefore, should have had her mom’s signature on the enrollment papers. You explain to the principal that even though Stacy’s mom still has legal custody, Stacy is still unaccompanied. The principal’s response? “Prove it.” Your response?... Call the Law!
11. You are in your fourth year of serving as the Homeless Liaison. You’ve known since day one that staff in your district have been resisting MV. You have a new Superintendent this year, so you request to train appropriate staff on MV. You are surprised when even she questions why you are asking to train other school district personnel about the needs of homeless youth. Your response?... Call the Law!
12. One of your camppus liaisons calls you for help sorting through a tough issue with a local mom. The single mom and her two children, one entering kindergarten and the other entering third grade, became homeless over the summer and are now living in a motel in a nearby community. The third grader will continue to attend his school of origin, Choctaw Elementary. The kindergartner has an IEP that requires attendance at Summerview Elementary, which partners with the YMCA across the street to provide aquatic therapy to students with severe physical limitations. The mom wants her kindergartner to attend Choctaw Elementary with her third grader, and insists that her kindergartner has school of origin rights, too. Your response?... Call the Law!
13. Check In: How are you doing?
14. 1 You are the liaison for a small rural district. The family of Sam, one of the students living in your district, was evicted from their apartment over the summer and is living in a relative’s garage in a neighboring district. You qualify Sam as McKinney-Vento eligible. Sam’s parents request that he be able to stay in the same school. You call Sam’s school to explain what has happened and that Sam will continue to attend there. The principal resists and says that Sam doesn’t have the right to stay in that school because his family lost housing over the summer, not in the middle of the school year. He says Sam should enroll in the local school.Your response?... Call the Law!
15. 2 Several days later, Sam’s mom calls and wants to change where Sam attends school. She just got a new job and will no longer be home when Sam gets home from school. Instead of Sam attending Hamilton Elementary (his school of origin) or Fresh Spring Elementary (the local school), she’d like Sam to be able to attend Jasper Elementary. It has a good reputation and is right near the house of a friend who is willing to keep Sam after school. The mom insists that since Sam is a McKinney-Vento student, that he should be able to attend any school in the district. Your response?... Call the Law!
16. You, the local liaison, receive a call from Stephanie Miller, who is your campus contact in one of the schools in your district. She is enrolling a girl who she believes qualifies for McKinney-Vento services. She is asking the girl’s mom to provide a phone number in case of emergency, but the mom refuses to do so. The mom has become very angry and insists that the McKinney-Vento Act says that she doesn’t have to provide any information to enroll her daughter. Ms. Miller is flustered and doesn’t know how to respond. She asks you if the McKinney-Vento Act prohibits her from requiring an emergency contact phone number. Your response?... Call the Law!
17. Your district has a policy that prohibits enrolling a student without her guardian being present. You, as the local liaison, have been able to advocate on behalf of unaccompanied homeless youth with some success to ensure that they are enrolled immediately. Several schools in your district, however, continue to resist. Until the policy is revised, you know UHY will continue to face enrollment barriers. You draft a revision to the district policy that allows UHY to enroll without a parent. You email the revision to the Superintendent for her review, explaining that the district is required to review and revise district policies that pose enrollment barriers. The Superintendent insists that you show her where this is required in the law. Your response?... Call the Law!
18. You serve as the local liaison in a large urban district with a McKinney-Vento subgrant. A shelter network with a number of branches throughout the city approaches you with an offer of providing space in each of their shelters for an after-school program for the students that live in their shelters. Your district would need to provide the lead staff, with volunteer church members providing support. You want to help but aren’t sure if the district is allowed to provide services to McKinney-Vento students in locations other than on school grounds. You thank the shelter network director for the call and let him know that you’ll get back with him as soon as possible. Now, it’s time to do your research. Your response?... Call the Law!
19. Luis and his mom, Arlene Sanchez, moved out of their apartment in a neighboring county over the summer and moved in with Arlene’s parents, who live in your district, in July. Arlene’s father is ill and she wants to help her mother take care of him. Arlene wants Luis to attend the same school he attended last year and receive transportation. She says Luis should have this since he should be McKinney-Vento eligible because they are sharing housing with her parents. You explain that not all shared housing arrangements automatically qualify as homeless, but the mother insists you are wrong. Your response?... Call the Law!
20. You now Know the Law!!