M cKinney-Vento Q & A

McKinney-VentoQ & A Christina Endres cendres@serve.org

Get to Know NCHE… • NCHE has: • A comprehensive website: www.serve.org/nche • A free helpline: Call 800-308-2145 or e-mail homeless@serve.org • A listserv: visit www.serve.org/nche/listserv.php for subscription instructions • Free resources atwww.serve.org/nche/products.php

Who Qualifies For Services? • Students who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including: • 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

Who Qualifies? • 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

Question Ms. Johnson calls the district liaison to notify him that she & her family are homeless after losing their apartment. Her husband & older child are staying with a relative across town. She & their other child are staying with a different relative, her grandfather. After discovering his dementia is far worse than anyone knew, she & her daughter don’t plan to leave her grandfather’s home anytime soon. • Is anyone in this scenario homeless?

Doubled-up • Sharing housing 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?

Question Kids who are eligible under McKinney-Vento can attend any school since they don’t have a residence to dictate where they attend. • True or False?

School Selection • Local Attendance Area School • Any school students living in the same attendance area are eligible to attend • School of Origin • School attended when permanently housed; or • School in which the student was last enrolled

School Selection • Liaison determines in consultation with parent, guardian, or UHY • Keep student in school of origin to the extent feasible unless this conflicts with parent, guardian, or UHY’s wishes • Dispute resolution process used to mediate disagreements on eligibility or enrollment

Question Homeless families can be considered homeless for up to 12 months. • True or False?

Question Homelessness can be associated with lower scores on standardized tests in spelling, reading, and math. • True or False?

School of Origin If feasible & in the student’s best interest • For duration of homelessness • For rest of school year in which obtain stable housing • For following school year if homelessness occurs in the summer

Question Feasibility refers to a school district’s capacity to provide transportation to the school of origin. • True or False?

School of Origin and Feasibility • Feasibility factors listed in U.S. Department of Education Guidance: • Age of the child or youth • Distance of commute and 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 a temporary shelter or other temporary location • Time remaining in the school year

How Is Feasibility Determined? • Determine best interest, then determine feasibility • Determining best interest is a case-by-case decision • No specific time or distance limit placed on transporting a homeless child to school of origin; consider the unique situation of the student and how transportation will affect the student’s education

Question Transportation must be provided to the school of origin for homeless students, even if it’s not typically provided to other students. • True or False?

Transportation • To school of origin: Required if requested & in student’s best interest • Other: Comparable to that provided for housed students • Interdistrict: Common agreement between districts or 50/50 split on cost & responsibilities • Mode: District chooses any option that provides safe, on-time transportation • Avoid stigma

Question McKinney-Vento only addresses the needs of K-12 children experiencing homelessness. • True or False?

Young Homeless Children • Local liaisons must ensure children have access to Head Start and other public preschool programs • Homeless children are categorically eligible for Head Start • Prioritize for enrollment • Same requirement to enroll, then locate paperwork • www.naehcy.org/legislation-and-policy/early-childhood • Child Find (IDEA ) requires young homeless children are identified, evaluated, and served

Question All unaccompanied youth are homeless. • True or False?

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Must determine eligibility • As homeless & • Unaccompanied Youth • Not in physical custody of parent or guardian • Liaison support for school selection & dispute resolution

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth • Age limits • Lower: No lower age limit • Upper: Your state’s upper age limit for public education • Must focus on fixed, regular, and adequate nature of housing over reason they left home (choice, no choice)

The School’s Charge • Schools first and foremost are educational agencies • Schools’ primary responsibility and goal is to enroll and educate, in accordance with the McKinney-Vento Act; federal law supersedes state and local law or policy • Schools do not need to know and/or agree with all aspects of a student’s home life to educate the student

Unaccompanied Youth: Strategies • Develop caretaker forms, self-enrollment forms, and other forms to replace typical proof of guardianship serve.org/nche/downloads/toolkit/app_d.pdf • Become familiar with state and local policies related to unaccompanied youth (medical consent and reporting) • Be willing to provide extra supports and flexibility • Brief on Unaccompanied Homeless Youth: serve.org/nche/downloads/briefs/youth.pdf

For more information Christina Endres cendres@serve.org 336-315-7438 NCHE helpline: 800-308-2145 or homeless@serve.org NCHE website: www.serve.org/nche

M cKinney-Vento Q & A