McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act

1. McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act • Lack a “fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence” • 5-10% of the FRL population • Living situation examples: • Sharing the housing of another due to loss of housing, economic hardship or similar reason • Motels, campgrounds, trailers, or tents • Emergency or transitional shelters • Public or private places not designed for human sleeping • Cars, parks, public places, abandoned buildings, bus terminals, train stations, or substandard housing • Awaiting foster care placement

2. Homeless Enrollment • Must be enrolled immediately, even if records are not available (educational, medical exam, immunizations etc.) • Enrollment- defined as attending classes and participating fully in school activities • Cannot require the caregiver to obtain legal guardianship or notarized statement

3. Homeless/Foster Care Coding • Coding of a student’s homeless or foster care status/eligibility is completed by the district office only • School enters the assignment code if the student lives out of the boundary and maintains their school of origin • 84- Homeless • 29- Foster Care • Assignment codes must be re-entered for each new school year if the homeless/foster care status is the same

4. Questions? Student Services Department Homeless Education Assistance Resource Team (HEART) 754-321-1566 Foster Care Liaison 754-321-1551

5. The Problem • Broward County attendance rates are lower than that of other large districts in the State • Broward’s average daily attendance rate is lower than the State’s • Positive correlation between attendance and academic achievement, hence graduation. • Everyone’s work is linked to improving the graduation rate in Broward County Public Schools.

6. REMINDERS! • Accurate attendance taking is legally mandated. • The District prescribes to accurate attendance taking. • Every teacher must take attendance for every class/period. • Report available daily to indicate teachers not in compliance with proper attendance taking practices so support can be provided. • Accurate attendance data will be in TERMS at day’s end

7. Change In Attendance Taking Practices • Eliminate using a single period of the day for computing attendance. • Implement instead, computation based on each period, each day. • All changes made by the IT Department

8. Rationale for the Change • A review of attendance practices in large school districts revealed some stark differences from Broward County. For example, student considered present if: • Student present for at least 30 minutes of the day. • Student present in ANY class for the day. • New Practice In Broward • a student is considered present if present for any class throughout the day.

9. Things to Remember • Pinnacle will only count the student as absent if marked absent by every teacher that day. • If a teacher fails to take attendance then attendance report will be incorrect • Pinnaclecannotdifferentiate between: • student marked present and teachernot taking attendance; • Teacher only recording students who were absent

10. Attendance Resources • Attendance CAB Conference for daily questions and sharing of ideas: • Ensure you have access, if not, contact us • District point person for consultation: • Mr. Terence McGarry, LCSW • Contact at terence.mcgarry@browardschools.com or • Call at 754 321- 1618