The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act

Effective Education for Homeless Children and Youth in Iowa

Davenport Community SchoolsStaff and Community Training

Ellen Reilly

PowerPoint adapted from the State of Vermont and modified for State of Iowa

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What The McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act Does for Homeless Youth…

• Maintains educational continuity for students and families during a time of transition

• Requires schools to identify and enroll students who meet the definition of homeless

• Supported under the “No Child Left Behind Act”

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What is the definition of a Homeless Student?

A homeless student is an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.

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What is the definition of an Unaccompanied Youth?

A homeless Unaccompanied Youth is: • an adolescent who is not in the physical custody of a parent orguardian and

•who meets the criteria for homelessness in the definition•Family conflict•Parental incarceration, substance abuse, illness, death, etc.•Foster care issues: aging out of the foster care system; running away from a foster care placement •Family homelessness

Students are still considered homeless even if their parents say that they can return home. (Often times older students are trying to escape from an abusive situation)

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How/why does a student become homeless?

A student may be homeless as a result of eviction, economic hardship, divorce, illness, natural disaster, domestic violence or other abusive situation, runaway, or other reasons, including being “kicked out” of their family home.

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What is homelessness?

Children and youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Includes those:– Sharing the housing of others due to loss of

housing, economic hardship, or similar reason– Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping

grounds due to lack of adequate alternative accommodations

– Living in emergency or transitional shelters– Abandoned in hospitals

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Homeless situations…– 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– Unaccompanied youth who are living in above circumstances

Case-by-case determinationMade by district homeless liaison

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The State of Homelessness

• 1.35 -1.5 million children• 10% of all children experiencing poverty

experience homelessness each year• 2 million children will lose their housing

due to foreclosures in next 2 years• Over 40% of all homeless children in

shelters are under the age of 5

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Educational Impacts• Every time a child has to change schools, his or her

education is disrupted. According to some estimates, 3-6 months of education are lost with every move.

• Homeless children are at high risk for falling behind in school due to their mobility. Without an opportunity to receive an education, homeless children are much less likely to acquire the skills they need to escape poverty as adults.

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Educational Impacts

• Students with two or more school changes in a year are half as likely to be proficient in reading and math and 2.5 times as likely to repeat a grade

• Students who move even once have their chances of graduating cut in half

• Homeless and highly mobile students perform lower on state achievement tests

• High mobility impacts the entire school district. Even stably housed students in schools with large mobile populations are negatively impacted

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Education Barriers• Enrollment requirements• Confidentiality issues• Guardianship• Discipline• Educational gaps and lost credits• Lack of access to programs• Lack of transportation• Lack of school supplies, clothing, etc.• Prejudice and misunderstanding • Schools’ reluctance to enroll• Lack of significant adult in their lives• Juggling school and employment• Lack of stable housing• School policies that hinder credit accrual• Community agency policies that create fear of being returned home

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Complications for Students• Poor Health

More like to suffer from illnesses such as asthma, ear infections, fevers, and stomach problems

• Poor Nutrition/HungerSuffer from hunger more than twice as often as housed children

• FatigueOften lose sleep due to crowded living conditions and stress

• Stress/TraumaLoss of the familiar (housing, friends, etc.) and constant worries about whether they will have a place to stayHigher likelihood of witnessing violence, including domestic violence

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How do we identify and enroll homeless students?

This is not a perfect process. It is a difficult issue for some to talk about andask for help. For others, they are in dire need and seek out assistance or askfor a referral. There are a variety of ways that the schools may find out astudent is experiencing homelessness.

Regardless, once a student is identified as homeless:• Ensure the guidance counselor who is the assigned homeless point of

contact in the building is notified immediately of the situation. • Document in eSIS• Maintain the student and family's privacy and dignity. • Families cannot be forced to accept services. It is important to respect

their decisions as a family even if you do not agree with them.

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How do we identify and enroll homeless students?

• You can try to collect housing information atregistration, but remember to use discretion and respect the family and their privacy.

• Ensure “Homeless Information Posters” for parents and youth are prominently displayed. They should be located in your main office where parents can see them. They are also available in Spanish.

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Challenges in Identifying Homeless Youth

• Parents, youth don’t know MV definition of homeless

• Parents, youth, don’t know MV rights for school enrollment

• Fearful or embarrassed to disclose homelessness• Parents may move, but children remain in school• Children and youth “disappear”

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Posters with information for homeless youth and families

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Where can homeless students attend school?

Children and youth experiencing homelessness can, according to their best interest:

• enroll in any public school that students living in the same attendance area are eligible to attend

• stay in their school of origin Best interest — keep homeless students in their school of

origin, to the extent feasible, unless this is against the parents’ or guardians’ wishes

School of origin — school attended when permanently housed or in which last enrolled

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School of Origin • Students can stay in their school of origin the entire time

they are homeless, and until the end of any academic year in which they move into permanent housing

• Student who become homeless between academic years may continue in the school of origin for the following academic year

• If a liaison recommends the student attend a school other than that requested by a parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth, the district must provide a written explanation of its decision and the right to appeal

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How are schools required to serve homeless students?

• Every school district in Iowa must designate a homeless education liaison.

• Identify and immediately enroll homeless students based on the best interest of the child and the preference of the parent or unaccompanied youth

• Schools may not deny a homeless student enrollment, even if they are missing medical or educational records (proof of homelessness may be requested by homeless liaison for the district)

• Provide transportation options for students to continue attending school of origin (if appropriate)

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What are Homeless Education Liaisons required to do?

•Facilitate identification and enrollment by knowing the law, train school staff and display parent/youth posters in each school

•Make sure that homeless students receive transportation (if appropriate), free meals, Title I and early education services…and all other services available to non-homeless students

•Link homeless students to appropriate services in both the school and the community

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Liaison Requirements

– Inform parents, guardians, or youth of educational rights, including school of origin and transportation

– Post public notice of educational rights– Resolve disputes– Collaborate with programs and agencies in the

school district and in the community

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Meals for Homeless YouthOnce a student is identified as homeless, school food service may not:– Single that student out in any way– Serve them meals that are not equivalent to what other

students are receiving– Make them stand in a separate line for lunch – Indicate in any way to others, including other food

service employees, that the student is homeless or receiving free meals.

– Send home or mark the student in any way if their meal account is showing a negative balance.

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How does the district collect and analyze data related to homeless students?

• To identify the student as homeless, it is recorded in the students eSIS record under the housing criteria.

• Data is regularly reported to the Iowa Department of Education through Project Easier.

• Disaggregated data is reviewed quarterly by the Learning Supports Advisory.

• Trend data is considered and local, state, and national trends are reviewed and considered.

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Resources to support your work with homeless students in Iowa

The Iowa Department of Education provides training and technical assistance to schools and community service providers in the form on Webinars and Iowa Communications Network.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Ellen Reilly at 563-336-3832 or by email at reillye@davenportschools.org