TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPER
JOHN L. WINN
The Education of Homeless Children and Youth (Title X, No Child Left
Commissioner of
Education
Behind Act of 2001, The McKinney Vento Act)
BACKGROUND
The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of
2001, as amended and incorporated into the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB),
allows the State of Florida to distribute funding to local school districts to meet the
requirements listed in the Act. This funding is in addition to Title I funding, a portion of
which that must also be used for the education of homeless children and youth, thus
making a direct connection between McKinney-Vento and Title I. Florida’s McKinney-
Vento Program is administered directly through the Bureau of Student Assistance and
the Office of Title I Programs and Academic Intervention Services.
Title I law now requires all school districts receiving Title I allocations to use those funds
to educate and meet the needs of homeless children and youth that may exist in the
district. This act also prohibits the segregation of homeless students and requires:
transportation to and from the school of origin, immediate enrollment, choice of schools,
and automatic eligibility for free school meals. In addition, every school district is
required to designate a homeless education liaison for all schools in the district.
According to the
Report to Congress: Fiscal Year 2000, Education for Homeless
Children and Youth Program: Learning to Succeed, a
two-volume report on two studies
conducted by Policy Studies Associates (PSA) under contract with the Planning and
Evaluation Service of the U.S. Department of Education, homeless children are a fast-
growing segment of the population. Nationwide, the number of homeless children
increased ten percent between 1997 and 2000 to 930,232. Two-thirds are in grades
pre-K through six, and approximately eighty-seven percent of school-age homeless
children and youth are enrolled in school, although only about seventy-seven percent
attend school regularly. Only fifteen percent of homeless children are in preschool
programs.
In Florida, forty-three school districts reported 16,431 homeless children during the
2003-04 school year (Source: Survey 5, 2003-04, Student Demographics); of these,
thirty-one districts were awarded funds under the competitive grant process for Title X,
The Education of Homeless Children and Youth.
Technical Assistance Paper 2005-07
August 2005
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, K12 STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
BUREAU OF STUDENT ASSISTANCE
Refer questions to Evelyn Hardy, Administrator, Title I Programs and Academic Intervention Services
via email at evelyn.hardy@fldoe.org, or by phone at 850-245-0686; or Betty Applewhite, State
Coordinator for Homeless Education via email at betty.applewhite@fldoe.org, or by phone at 850-245-
0709.
FDOE Technical Assistance Paper 2005-007
EFFECTS OF THE REAUTHORIZATION OF THE MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT
The 2001 reauthorization includes definitions of who is considered homeless for the
purposes of the McKinney-Vento Act and therefore who is eligible for the rights and
protections it provides. The principal differences between the current McKinney-Vento
Act and the predecessor program include the following:
•
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Prohibition against segregating homeless students;
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Requirement for transportation to and from school of origin;
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Requirement for immediate school enrollment;
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Changes in “best interest” determination;
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Requirement for local liaison in all school districts, and
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Provision of new subgrant requirements.
Definition/Eligibility
Homeless children or youth are those who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime
residence. This includes children and youth that are:
•
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Sharing housing due to loss of housing or economic hardship;
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Living in motels, hotels, dilapidated trailers, or camping grounds due to lack of
alternative adequate housing;
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Living in emergency or transitional housing;
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Abandoned in hospitals;
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Awaiting foster care;
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Having a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not
designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations;
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Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing,
or bus and train stations, and
•
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Migratory students meeting the descriptions above.
Local School District Requirements
Local school districts are required to ensure that all homeless children and youth have
equal access to a free, appropriate public education. The reauthorization of the
McKinney-Vento Act also added the following four requirements:
1. Ensure Access to School and Appropriate Services
•
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School districts are required to designate a liaison for homeless children and
youth. It is this person’s responsibility to identify homeless students, ensure that
homeless children and youth are immediately enrolled, and see that they have
equal opportunities for success. The homeless liaison for each Florida school
district may be found by visiting the following website:
http://www.firn.edu/doe/title1/homeless_coordinators.htm.
•
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School districts must review and revise, as needed, all current practices and
policies that are potential barriers to the education of homeless children and
youth.
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School districts must disseminate information to parents, school personnel, and
the community on the rights of homeless children and youth.
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School districts are required to immediately enroll students experiencing
homelessness, even when lacking documentation.
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FDOE Technical Assistance Paper 2005-007
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School districts must approve homeless students’ eligibility for free lunch. Once
the local educational agency liaison or service provider has certified a student as
eligible, the eligibility remains effective for the remainder of the school year.
Schools are allowed to continue a student’s eligibility from the previous year for
thirty operating days into the subsequent school year or until a new eligibility
determination is made.
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School districts must assist children and youth that do not have immunizations or
medical records to obtain the necessary immunizations or retrieve the records.
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School districts are required to keep homeless children in their school of origin
(to the extent feasible), except when doing so is contrary to the wishes of the
parents. It is also the school district’s responsibility to transport the student to and
from the school of origin throughout the duration of homelessness.
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School districts are required to provide homeless children and youth with access
to all programs and services available to other students in their district.
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School districts must ensure that homeless children are not segregated or
stigmatized due to their homelessness.
2. Reduce School Transfers and Enhance Educational Stability
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School districts must keep homeless children in their school of origin, except
when not feasible or requested by the parent, during the entire duration of
homelessness.
3. Strengthen Parental Choice and Involvement
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School districts are required to fully inform parents of the enrollment options and
the educational opportunities for their children.
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School districts are to provide homeless parents opportunities to participate in
the education of their children.
4. Ensure Educational Rights of Unaccompanied Youth
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School districts must assist unaccompanied youth (those who do not live with a
parent/guardian) with the school enrollment process.
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School districts are required to keep unaccompanied youth in the school of origin
to the extent feasible.
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School districts must appoint a surrogate parent for an unaccompanied homeless
youth who has been identified as having a disability under the Individuals with
Disabilities Act 2004 not more than thirty days after there is a determination by
the agency that the child needs a surrogate.
IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
The following strategies and suggestions are provided to assist district and school
personnel in implementing the requirements of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act as amended by Title X, Homeless Education.
Strategies to Improve the Identification of Children and Youth That May Be
Homeless
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Coordinate with community service agencies, such as shelters, soup kitchens,
food banks, street outreach teams, drop-in centers, welfare and housing
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FDOE Technical Assistance Paper 2005-007
agencies, public health departments, and faith-based organizations to identify
families with children or unaccompanied youth that may be homeless.
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Provide outreach materials and posters where there is a frequent influx of low-
income families and youth in high-risk situations, including motels and
campgrounds.
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Develop relationships with truancy officials and/or other attendance officers.
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Provide awareness activities for school staff (registrars, secretaries, school
counselors, school social workers, school nurses, teachers, bus drivers,
administrators, etc.).
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Make special efforts to identify preschool children, including asking about the
siblings of school-age children who may be homeless.
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Use enrollment and withdrawal forms to inquire about living situations.
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Have students draw or write about where they live.
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Encourage the use of “children in transition” or other such term and avoid using
the word “homeless” in initial contacts with community agency personnel,
families, or youth.
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Train all school enrollment staff, secretaries, school counselors, school social
workers, and principals on the legal requirements for enrollment.
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Review school district enrollment policies and revise them, as necessary.
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Develop alternative caretaker forms, enrollment forms for unaccompanied youth,
and other forms to replace typical proof of guardianship, ensuring they do not
create further barriers or delay enrollment.
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Accept school records directly from families and youth.
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Establish immunization databases, school-based immunization clinics, or mobile
health units.
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Be sensitive about smoothly integrating new students into the classroom and
school community.
Providing Transportation to Homeless Children and Youth
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Coordinate with local housing authorities and placement agencies to house
students near their schools of origin.
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Re-route school buses (including special education, magnet school and other
buses), and ensure that buses travel to shelters, transitional living programs, and
motels where homeless students reside.
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Develop close ties among school district homeless liaisons, school staff and pupil
transportation staff, and designate a district-level point of contact to arrange and
coordinate transportation.
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Provide passes for public transportation, including passes for caretakers when
necessary.
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Take advantage of transportation systems used by public assistance agencies.
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Reimburse parents, guardians or unaccompanied youth for cost of transportation.
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Use approved van or taxi services.
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Use other state, federal and local funds for transportation.
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FDOE Technical Assistance Paper 2005-007
Resolving Disputes
The Florida Department of Education and every school district must establish
procedures to promptly resolve disputes. Such procedures must ensure that:
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The student is immediately admitted to the school of choice while the dispute is
being resolved, and transportation to the school of origin must be provided, upon
request.
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The school provides a written explanation of its decision; including the right to
appeal the decision (liaisons inform unaccompanied youth).
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The school refers the child, youth, parent, or guardian to the liaison to carry out
the dispute process as expeditiously as possible.
Strategies for Ensuring Coordination and Collaboration with Title I Programs
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Establish local formula or other methods to allocate Title I set-asides for
homeless children and youth.
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Use Title I funds (including set-aside funds to support the school district
homeless liaison position and/or to meet basic needs of students experiencing
homelessness).
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Use Title I funds to provide tutoring and/or outreach services to children and
youth living in shelters, transitional living programs, motels, and other temporary
residences.
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Pool Title I and McKinney-Vento funds to provide a comprehensive program for
homeless students.
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Ensure that the needs of children experiencing homelessness are taken into
account in the needs assessments that are required for Title I schoolwide
programs.
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Make appropriate testing accommodations for children who are homeless. For
example, provide opportunities for students to make up tests if they are absent
on testing day.
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Ensure that local liaisons are trained to collect achievement data for all homeless
students and that district records systems enable this data collection while taking
into account confidentiality issues.
Other Title I Requirements
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Children and youth experiencing homelessness are automatically eligible for Title
I services, no matter what school they attend.
[Title I Part A, 1115(b)(2)(E)]
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School districts must reserve (set-aside) funds to provide comparable services to
homeless children, including educationally related support services. [Title I Part
A, 1113(c)(3)(A)]
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School districts’ Title I Plans must describe the services that will be provided to
homeless children, including services from the set-aside funds. [Title I Part A,
1112(b)(1)(c)]
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States must include homeless students in academic assessment, reporting, and
accounting systems.
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School districts and the state may not receive Title I, Part A funding unless they
submit a plan that is coordinated with the McKinney-Vento Act. [Title I Part A,
1112(a) (1)].
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FDOE Technical Assistance Paper 2005-007
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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Q1. What are the strategies for increasing the enrollment of homeless children or
youth?
A1. School personnel should work collaboratively with the school district’s homeless
liaison to coordinate with community service agencies, such as shelters, soup kitchens,
food banks, transitional living programs, street outreach teams, drop-in centers,
community action agencies (especially in rural areas, where there may be no shelters),
welfare departments, housing departments, public health departments, and faith-based
organizations to begin to develop a relationship on issues such as the school enrollment
process, transportation, and other student services. Local homeless liaisons can
provide a district-wide residency questionnaire to all students upon enrollment
.
Q2. What strategies can a local liaison use to identify homeless preschoolers?
A2. Local liaisons can identify preschool-aged homeless children by working closely
with shelters and social service agencies in their area. In addition, the liaison should
work with school personnel who can inquire, at the time they are enrolling homeless
children and youth in school, whether the family has preschool-aged children.
Q3. Are children who are awaiting foster care placement eligible for services
under the McKinney-Vento Act?
A3. Yes. Children who are awaiting foster care placement are considered homeless
and eligible for McKinney-Vento services. (See Section 725(2)(B)(i) of the McKinney-
Vento Act.)
Q4. What civil rights requirements apply to school districts in educating
homeless children?
A4. School districts are required to ensure that the educational programs for homeless
children are administered in a nondiscriminatory manner. Homelessness may not be
used as a factor to deny students the right to a free public education.
Q5. May schools or school districts segregate homeless children and youth in
separate schools or in separate programs within a school?
A5. No. Homelessness alone is not sufficient reason to separate students from the
mainstream school environment. School districts are required to adopt policies and
practices that ensure homeless students will not be segregated or stigmatized on the
basis of their status. Homeless students are required to have equal access to all
programs and services offered by the school, regardless of whether or not they are in
transition. [See Non-regulatory Guidance, Education for Homeless Children and Youth
Program, US Department of Education, dated July 2004: Question E-1.]
Q6. May a school district provide educational/instructional services to homeless
children or youth at an off-site facility, such as a shelter?
A6. No. Homeless children and youth shall be educated as part of a school’s regular
academic/instructional program. Academic/instructional and other school-related
services and programs must be provided in such a way as to integrate homeless
children and youth with their non-homeless counterparts.
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FDOE Technical Assistance Paper 2005-007
Q7. May a school separate children and youth from the regular school program if
they reside in a domestic violence shelter?
A7. No. However, school personnel should take all necessary precautions to protect
the child or youth who are victims of domestic violence. The steps include, but are not
limited to: protecting the children’s identity in the school’s database system(s); arranging
for anonymous pick-up and drop-off locations for buses; enrolling children in a different
school; advising bus drivers and other school personnel of the sensitive nature of the
child’s circumstances; and assisting families in filing copies of protective orders.
Q8. May McKinney-Vento funds be used to provide direct instructional services
to homeless children and youth?
A8. Yes, as long as the funds are used to expand upon or improve
educational/instructional services provided to homeless children and youth. As with
other federally funded programs, McKinney-Vento funds may not be used to supplant
educational services that would otherwise be provided to these students through state
and/or local funds.
Q9. On what basis does a school district make school placement determinations
for homeless children and youth?
A9. A school district must make school placement determinations on the basis of what
is in “the best interest” of the homeless child or youth. In determining a child’s best
interest, a school district must, to the extent feasible, keep a homeless child or youth in
the “school of origin” unless doing so is contrary to the wishes of the child’s parent or
guardian. Should a school district decide to send the homeless child or youth to a
school other than the school of origin or a school requested by the parent or guardian,
the school district must provide a written explanation of its decision to the
parent/guardian, together with a statement regarding the right to appeal the placement
decision.
Q10. Are children displaced from their housing by naturally occurring disasters
eligible for services under the McKinney-Vento Act?
A10. The FDOE and school districts shall determine whether or not such children would
be eligible for McKinney-Vento funded services on a case-by-case basis. In making
such a determination, the school district shall take into consideration the services that
are available through these and other sources.
Q11. Are homeless children and youth eligible to receive Title I, Part A services?
A11. Yes. Homeless children and youth are automatically eligible for services under
Title I, Part A of NCLB; whether or not they live in a Title I school attendance area or
meet the academic standards required for eligibility.
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FDOE Technical Assistance Paper 2005-007
Q12. What procedures must a school district follow if a dispute arises between a
school and a parent or guardian regarding placement of a homeless child or
youth?
A12. If a dispute arises over school selection/enrollment, the school district must
immediately enroll the homeless student in the school in which enrollment is sought by
the parent or guardian, pending resolution of the dispute. Similar provisions apply to the
placement of unaccompanied youth. Inter-district enrollment disputes shall be resolved
by the FDOE.
Q13. Are school districts required to provide transportation services to homeless
children attending preschool?
A13. Yes, to the extent that a school district offers a public preschool program.
McKinney-Vento requires that homeless children have equal access to that preschool
education as provided to non-homeless children. Therefore, if a school district provides
transportation for non-homeless preschool children, it must also provide comparable
transportation services for homeless pre-school children.
Q14. Does McKinney-Vento have a “comparability” requirement?
A14. Yes, the McKinney-Vento Act requires that the services provided to homeless
children be comparable to those provided to non-homeless children.
INTERNET LINKS TO OTHER RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
The
Florida Coalition for the Homeless
[
www.flacoalitionhomeless.com/about.htm
]
A Florida organization whose membership includes homeless advocates, service
providers, members of the faith-based community, formerly homeless persons,
educators, attorneys, mental health professionals and many others statewide. This
organization provides information and strategies among local homeless coalitions and
with all interested parties.
The National Center for Homeless Education at SERVE.
[
www.serve.org/nche
/]
The Center provides research, resources, and information enabling communities to
?
address the educational needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness.
?
NCHE’s Presentation on Homeless Education and Title I: Collaboration and
?
Compliance.
[
servepres.serve.org/p79332226
/]
This presentation explains the relationship between the McKinney-Vento Homeless
?
Assistance Act and Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act. Concepts covered include
?
comparable services, the mandatory reservation of funds set-aside, and strategies for
?
collaboration between the programs. View the presentation. (Length: 11:01 minutes).
?
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FDOE Technical Assistance Paper 2005-007
The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
(NAEHCY
)
.
[
www.naehcy.org
/]
A national association that connects educators, parents, advocates, researchers and
service providers to ensure school enrollment and attendance, and overall success for
children and youth whose lives have been disrupted by the lack of safe, permanent and
adequate housing.
The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
.
?
[
www.nlchp.org/FA_EDUCATION
/]
This center, established in 1989, provides technical assistance to attorneys, service
?
providers, parents, and educators across the country to ensure that homeless children
?
gain access to public school.
?
The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH).
[
www.nationalhomeless.org
/]
A national organization that engages in public education, policy advocacy, and
grassroots organizing. The Coalition services focus on the following four areas: housing
justice, economic justice, health care justice, and civil rights.
Florida Department of Children and Families, Office of Homelessness
[
http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/homelessness
/]
The Office on Homelessness was established in 2001 to serve as a central point of
contact within state government on the issue of homelessness. The Office's primary
duty is to coordinate the services of the various state agencies and programs to serve
those persons or families who have become homeless, or are facing becoming
homeless. This office also publishes an annual report. For the most current report, see
Annual Report on Homeless Conditions in Florida 2005 at:
[www.dcf.state.fl.us/homelessness/docs/2005reportweb.pdf]
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