Title: Ensuring Educational Stability for Homeless Children and Youth
1Ensuring Educational Stability for Homeless
Children and Youth
- An Overview of the McKinney-Vento Act and
Advocacy Strategies for Keeping Homeless and
Displaced Students in School
Sarah Biehl, Ohio Poverty Law Center/Ohio State
Legal Services Association Melissa Will,
Southeastern Ohio Legal Services
2Todays Agenda
- A Growing Problem
- Barriers to Education for Homeless Children
- McKinney-Vento Act
- Who are Homeless Children and Youth?
- McKinney-Vento Personnel
- Educational Rights of Homeless Children
- Focus on School Stability
- Removing Barriers
- Advocacy Strategies/Tips
3A Growing Problem
- The number of public school students who are
homeless is increasing. - 17 increase in homeless students in Ohio last
year - News organizations note an alarming rise in
homeless students in Michigan
Number of homeless Ohio students jumps 17
percent increase to 9,396 sets state record,
http//www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A
ID/20081219/NEWS04/812190345/-1/NEWS Economy in
Crisis Homeless Students on The Rise in Northern
Michigan, http//www.9and10news.com/category/story
/?id143855 Educators See Spike in Number of
Homeless Students, http//www.foxnews.com/story/0,
2933,489865,00.html In Tough Times, Ranks of
Homeless Students Rising School districts find
unprecedented increase in numbers of homeless
students across US, http//abcnews.go.com/US/WireS
tory?id6497841page3
4Barriers to Education for Homeless Children
- Enrollment requirements (school records, health
records, proof of residence and guardianship) - High mobility resulting in lack of school
stability and educational continuity - Lack of transportation
- Lack of school supplies, clothing, etc.
- Poor health, fatigue, hunger, anxiety/trauma
- Invisibility (lack of awareness)
- Prejudice and misunderstanding
- For unaccompanied youth lack of adult guardian
need for employment credit accrual policies
concerns of capture by authorities
Source National Association for the Education
of Homeless Children and Youth, www.naehcy.org
5McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act
- Title X, Part C of the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001 (which is up for reauthorization this
year) - 42 U.S.C. 11431 et. seq.
- 34 C.F.R. Part 200
- Main Themes
- School stability
- School access
- Support for academic success
- Child-centered, best interest decision making
6Who Are Homeless Children and Youth?
- Must meet the McKinney-Vento definition of
homeless Children and youth who lack a fixed,
regular, and adequate nighttime residence,
including - Sharing the housing of others due to loss of
housing, economic hardship, or similar reason
(doubled up) - Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping
grounds due to lack of adequate alternative
accommodations - Living in emergency or transitional shelters
- Abandoned in hospitals
- Awaiting foster care placement
- Living in a public or private place not designed
for humans to live - Living in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, bus
or train stations, etc. - Migratory children living in above circumstances
42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)
7Who Are Homeless Children and Youth?
- NOTE! The McKinney-Vento definition of
homelessness is broader and more inclusive than
the HUD definition (42 U.S.C.
11302(a)). - McKinney-Vento does not specify an age range but
applies to all school-aged children and youth (as
defined by state law) typically states allow
youth to attend school up to the age of 21
8McKinney-Vento Personnel
- Every State Education Agency has an Office of
State Coordinator for the Education of Homeless
Children and Youth - Collaboration responsibilities across agencies
and with communities - Technical assistance to LEAs
- Compliance
- Professional development
- Data collection and reporting
42 U.S.C. 11432(d)(3)
9McKinney-Vento Personnel
- Every Local Education Agency (school district)
must designate a liaison for students in homeless
situations - Responsibilities
- Ensure that children and youth in homeless
situations are identified through school and
community - Ensure that homeless students enroll in and have
full and equal opportunity to succeed in school - Make referrals for health, mental health, and
other services, and ensure that homeless children
receive Head Start and preschool programs
administered by school districts
42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(6)(A)
10McKinney-Vento Personnel
- Local Liaison Responsibilities (Cont.)
- Inform parents, guardians, and youth of
educational and parent involvement opportunities - Post public notice of educational rights
- Resolve disputes
- Inform parents, guardians, and youth of
transportation services, including to the school
of origin - Collaborate and coordinate with community and
school personnel
11Educational Rights of Homeless Children
- Broad mandate for all school districts to remove
barriers to school enrollment and retention by
revising policies and practices - Remain in the school of origin (if in best
interest) - Transportation to the school of origin
- Immediate enrollment
- Access to programs and services
- Access to dispute resolution procedures
See 42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(H)-(J)
12Focus on School Stability
- Students can stay in their school of origin for
the duration of homelessness and until the end of
the school year when they find permanent housing,
as long as that is in their best interests. - School of origin is the school attended when
permanently housed or in which last enrolled (42
U.S.C. 11432(g)(3)(G)). - Best interests generally means keeping homeless
students in their schools of origin, to the
extent feasible, unless this is against the
parents/guardians wishes (42 U.S.C.
11432(g)(3)(B)).
13Focus on School Stability
- Students can also choose to attend the local
school where they are currently staying (any
school others living in the same area are
eligible to attend) - Regardless of whether the student chooses to stay
in the school of origin or enroll in his/her
local school, the student must be enrolled
immediately (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(3)(C)).
14Removing Barriers
- School districts may not refuse to enroll
homeless children because they lack required
documents such as proof of residence,
guardianship paperwork, school records, health
records, etc. (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(3)(C)(i)). - If a student does not have immunization records,
the liaison must assist immediately in obtaining
them, and the student must be enrolled in the
interim (42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(3)(C)(iii)).
15Removing Barriers
- If a dispute arises over school selection or
enrollment in school - The child must be immediately admitted into the
school in which enrollment is sought - The school must provide the student/parents a
written explanation of the schools enrollment
decision, along with their rights to appeal that
decision - The child and her/his parents must be immediately
referred to the districts liaison to begin the
dispute resolution process
42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(3)(E)
16Removing Barriers
- The school district must provide students in
homeless situations with services comparable to
those provided to other students, including - Transportation
- Vocational and technical education
- School nutrition programs
- Gifted and talented programs.
42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(4)(A)
17Removing Barriers
- Transportation
- School districts are required to provide
transportation in 3 situations - Must provide transportation to school of origin
upon request of parent or guardian. - For transportation to school other than school of
origin, must provide transportation comparable to
that provided to other students in district. - If transportation is a barrier to enrollment or
retention, school must eliminate that barrier.
See 42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J) (g)(4)(A)
(g)(1)(I) (g)(7).
18Advocacy Strategies
- Know the broad McKinney-Vento definition of
homelessness and be on the lookout for clients
whose children could benefit from the law. - Help educate other attorneys in your office about
McKinney-Vento often clients in other types of
cases have children who could benefit, especially
in divorce cases, foreclosure, eviction, public
benefits cases. - Help educate your client community about
McKinney-Ventos benefits for homeless children. - Know the liaisons in the districts in your
region.
19Advocacy Strategies
- Some districts generally, larger urban
districts have funded McKinney-Vento
liaisons. This means their positions are funded
by the federal government and their full-time job
is to be the homeless liaison for that district.
They are generally better trained and more
knowledgeable. - Most districts do NOT have funded liaisons. Many
districts simply designate the superintendent or
a principal as their liaison. - Lots of unfunded liaisons dont even know they
are the liaison! - You can and should educate the districts liaison
about his/her legal responsibilities under
McKinney-Vento.
20Advocacy Strategies
- Many funded liaisons help coordinate trainings
for unfunded liaisons in the districts in their
region offer to help with the trainings to
liaisons and others. - Conversely, get to know the funded liaisons in
your service area and see if you can get them to
call or reach out to the unfunded liaison in the
district in which your client is having trouble.
21Advocacy Strategies
- Remember that parents and students are entitled
to a written explanation of why a school district
is refusing to enroll a homeless child in a
particular school often a lawyer asking for
that written explanation is enough to get a child
enrolled and end the dispute. - Get a copy of your states dispute resolution
process. - Dispute resolution processes require that the
parties make an effort to resolve the dispute at
the district level before involving the state
coordinator, but it often doesnt hurt to call
your state coordinator if he or she is
good/helpful, especially for repeated problems
with the same school district.
22Advocacy Strategies
- Final option file a federal lawsuit to force
the district to comply with McKinney-Vento. - Liability is based on negligence a failure to
exercise reasonable care in following the federal
law and providing appropriate services. - Look at the National Law Center on Homelessness
and Poverty website (www.nlchp.org) it has lots
of info about pending and decided McKinney-Vento
cases, many of which are not reported on Westlaw
or Lexis.
23Advocacy What about unaccompanied youth?
- Unaccompanied youth are often a particular
challenge. - Liaisons must help unaccompanied youth choose and
enroll in school, after considering the youths
wishes and informing the youth of his/her appeal
rights. - School personnel should be made aware of specific
needs of runaway and other unaccompanied youth. - Schools are not required to allow unaccompanied
minors to sign their own forms and documents (for
example, for field trips, etc.), but they can. - Options include letting the youth make his/her
own decisions, letting the local liaison make the
decisions, issuing caregiver forms allowing
other adults to make decisions
24Advocacy Unaccompanied Youth
- School districts cannot require caretakers to
obtain guardianship of youth after enrollment, or
within a specific number of days, in order for
youth to remain in school. - Many homeless youth lose credits due to absences,
and school districts are required to help them
make up lost credits. - You may need to argue that school district
policies that would prevent youth with
scattered or no accumulated credit from
enrolling must be revised because they are a
barrier.
25Advocacy What about school discipline?
- McKinney-Vento does not overrule state or local
discipline policies. If a student has been
suspended or expelled for behavior, those
policies apply. - If, however, a student has been disciplined for
reasons related to homelessness (eg, excessive
absences), the student should not be penalized
and the policy should be revised.
26Advocacy What about homeless students receiving
special education services?
- The local liaison must immediately assist with
getting the students IEP paperwork, and the IEP
must immediately be implemented. - The IDEA requires school districts to appoint
surrogate parents for unaccompanied homeless
youth within 30 days. - IDEA regs permit staff members of emergency
shelters, transitional shelters, independent
living programs, and outreach programs to serve
as temporary surrogate parents.
27Questions? Need More Help?
- Sarah Biehl, Ohio Poverty Law Center/Ohio State
Legal Services Association sbiehl_at_oslsa.org,
(614) 221-7201 x. 130 - Melissa Will, Southeastern Ohio Legal Services
mwill_at_oslsa.org, (740) 345-0850 - National Association for the Education of
Homeless Children and Youth http//www.naehcy.org
/ - National Center for Homeless Education
http//www.serve.org/nche/m-v.php - National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty
http//www.nlchp.org/ - U.S. DOE non-regulatory guidance for school
districts on implementing McKinney-Vento
http//www.ed.gov/programs/homeless/guidance.pdf