THE MCKINNEY-VENTO LAW: Giving Homeless Students a Shot at the American Dream

1. THE MCKINNEY-VENTO LAW:Giving Homeless Students a Shot at the American Dream The Texas Homeless Education Office http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/ U.T. Dana Center & Region 10 ESC 1616 Guadalupe Austin, TX 78701 800-446-3142

2. OUR AGENDA TODAY • Background of the McKinney-Vento Law: the Federal NCLB law and the state Texas Education Code • Defining Homelessness • School Personnel Responsibilities: local liaison and school administrators • School of Origin, Transportation Issues, Dispute Resolution

3. FINDING ANSWERS • CALL THE TEXAS HOMELESS EDUCATION OFFICE: • 1-800-446-3142 • 1-512-475-9715 VICKY DILL • EMAIL VICKYDILL@AUSTIN.UTEXAS.EDU • TEA information at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=2147503685

4. Poverty in Texas Low Wages and Rising Rents Scarce Supportive Housing Families without Health Care

5. Students Coded Homeless 2012 2010-2011 85,155 2011-2012 94,624 2012-2013 100,635-102,579

6. Why Are So Many Homeless? While it's true that Texas is responsible for 40% of the jobs added in the U.S. over the past two years, its poverty rate also grew faster than the national average in 2010.

7. Why Are Children Homeless? Some 18.4% of Texans were impoverished in 2010, up from 17.3% a year earlier, according to Census Bureau data released in 2012. The national average is 15.1%. Texas leads the nation in the number of people who have no health insurance.

8. Texas: 6th Poorest State in Nation Texas has the 6th highest poverty rate in the nation; one in every 6 Texans or 4.4 million Texans live in poverty. While the unemployment rate is low, many Texans need two or three low-paying jobs to make ends meet.

9. Texas: High Poverty, Poor Health Care In the United States, about 1.5 million children in grades K-12 are homeless; In Texas alone, no fewer than 103,000 students are homeless. Under-identification is widespread; Child poverty in Texas increases every year: 26.2 percent of Texas children are currently living in poverty. To give you a better idea, that's more than one-in four children.

10. Texas: High Poverty, Poor Health Care In the United States, about 1.5 million children in grades K-12 are homeless; Child poverty in Texas increases every year: 26.2 percent of Texas children are currently living in poverty. To give you a better idea, that's more than one-in four children.

11. Decline of the Middle Class In 2008, there were an estimated 13.9 million households comprised of two or more families. By 2010, the number of multifamily households increased to 15.5 million, accounting for 13.2 percent of all households. The Effects of Recession on Household Composition: “Doubling Up” and Economic Well-Being. Laryssa Mykyta and Suzanne Macartney, U.S. Census Bureau SEHSD Working Paper Number 2011-4 (2011).

12. BACKGROUND Background of the McKinney-Vento Law: the Federal NCLB law and the State of Texas Education Code

13. WHAT IS MCKINNEY-VENTO? This law is a result of bipartisan legislation in the 1980’s. After the death of its chief Republican sponsor, Representative Stewart B. McKinney of Connecticut, the act was renamed the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. President Ronald Reagan signed it into law on July 22, 1987. At the time it was enacted, 50% of all homeless students dropped out of school.

14. Is This a New Law? On October 30, 2000, President William Clinton renamed the legislation, “The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act” upon the death of Representative Bruce Vento, a leading supporter of the act since its original passage in 1987. Reauthorized many times, it is currently part of NCLB Part C.

15. REQUIREMENTS OF THE LAW Every state by federal law must have a McKinney-Vento State Coordinator’s Office (THEO in Texas). This office oversees statewide training. Every district must, by law, have a McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaison to ensure the rights of homeless students to enroll in school.

16. MCKINNEY-VENTO AT A GLANCE • THIS HANDOUT SUMMARIZES THE KEY PROVISIONS OF THE M-V ACT: • Definitions of homelessness • The goal of the Act: academic success • School selection/transportation • Enrollment (without documentation) • Dispute Resolution • Local liaisons, segregation, subgrants

17. DISTRICT ADMINISTRATORS’ ROLE “WHAT ADMINISTRATORS SHOULD KNOW” • STEREOTYPES AND STIGMAS • EDUCATIONAL STABILITY • IMMEDIATE ACCESS: TRAINING FRONT OFFICE STAFF ON AN ONGOING BASIS • THE HOMELESS LIAISON • USE OF TITLE I PART A

18. DEFINING “HOMELESS” The Housing and Urban Development agency (HUD) has a different definition of “homeless” than the TEA. It does not include the doubled-up category. The Hearth Act of 2009 mandates that districts and HUD work together to ensure that families are identified. Be aware that there may be other families who are homeless than those identified by HUD.

19. Decline of the Middle Class Everyone is talking about the wealth gap. In Texas, it is severe. In 2012, there are about 70,000 people living “doubled-up” in Texas. The Effects of Recession on Household Composition: “Doubling Up” and Economic Well-Being. Laryssa Mykyta and Suzanne Macartney, U.S. Census Bureau SEHSD Working Paper Number 2011-4 (2011).

20. WHO IS HOMELESS? Children and youth wholack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence: • 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 • THINK OF THE ACRONYM “FAR”

21. WHO IS HOMELESS? • 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, etc. • Migratory children living in above circumstances • (Definitions of “fixed, adequate, regular” in “Determining Rights”)

22. “Trailer Trials” It’s not easy to tell what a homeless student looks like, yet living doubled up takes its toll:

23. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? Final identification is the responsibility of the district liaison; however the process occurs, it must be thorough and auditable. Everyone should help. The more comprehensive the efforts to identify students and families, the more likely it is that most McKinney-Vento families will succeed.

24. LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY LIAISONS KEY PROVISIONS STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION

25. LOCAL LIAISON DUTIES • Identify unaccompanied children and youth through school and community outreach efforts. • Help students and families select and enroll in school. • Inform eligible students of their rights to transportation to the school of origin and assist with arranging transportation.

26. Parent Notification The McKinney-VentoAct requires publicnotice of educational rights of children and youth experiencing homelessness be disseminated inevery school districtat every campus – andwherever servicesare accessed.

27. PEIMS INDICATOR 1. A determination must be made regarding the housing status for EACH student in every LEA. One of five possible living situations must also be identified for those students who are identified as "homeless."2. A determination must be made regarding the unaccompanied youth status for EACH student that is identified as "homeless."

28. PEIMS INDICATOR Complete information is available at http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/news/index.php Effective with the 2012-13 school year, PEIMS has incorporated two new indicators for students

29. PEIMS HOMELESS INDICATOR • ALSO AVAILABLE: • PEIMS HOMELESS STATUS INDICATOR INSTRUCTIONS • http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/resources/factsheets.php#PEIMSindicators • PEIMS UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH STATUS TEMPLATE • http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/resources/factsheets.php#PEIMSindicators

30. PEIMS HL STATUS FAQ GO TO http://www.utdanacenter.org/theo/resources/factsheets.php#PEIMSindicators

31. Are Your Numbers Reasonable? • About 10% of all students below the poverty line will be homeless or about 1% of all students will be homeless. • As the homeless liaison or an administrator, it is your job to see if your numbers are within this range.

32. Determining Eligibility Uses of the SRQ/retention What is the student’s situation? Is the housing “fixed, adequate, & regular”?

33. Definition: SoO The term "school of origin" is defined as the specific school building in a school district that the student attended when permanently housed or the school in which the student was last enrolled before becoming homeless.

34. SCHOOL SELECTION TWO CHOICES FOR ANY M-V CHILD: a) ZONED SCHOOL OR b) SCHOOL OF ORIGIN SCHOOL OF ORIGIN-definition CHILD’S BEST INTEREST “ANY DISTRICT” OPTION – TEXAS EDUCATION CODE 25.—1(B)(5) DURATION OF SERVICES

35. BASIC SERVICE: FAPE AND TITLE I • Students identified as homeless are entitled to the same free and appropriate public education (FAPE) as is afforded any other student in the district. • All students in homeless situations are automatically eligible for district Title I services.

36. Enrollment: Participating FULLY in School Activities/Comparable Services • The McKinney-Vento Act requires that homeless students be immediately enrolled in school, including full participation in all classes and school activities. • States and districts must eliminate barriers to enrollment and retention in school. This includes text book and late fees, etc. • Districts use Title I, Part A funds, donations, or other funding for fees

37. Enrollment: Participating FULLY in School Activities/Comparable Services • Who can make decisions for an unaccompanied youth regarding participation in classes, activities, field trips, etc.? • States and school districts have implemented a variety of policies and procedures • Youth make decisions on their own • Local liaison makes decisions • Caregiver forms allow other adults to make decisions

38. ENROLLMENT: PARTICIPATING FULLY (CONT.) What about parental disapproval / school liability? • Liability is based on the concept of negligence, or a failure to exercise reasonable care. • Following federal law and providing appropriate services are evidence of reasonable care. • Violating federal law/denying services are evidence of negligence.

39. BASIC SERVICES: TRANSPORTATION SCHOOL OF ORIGIN TRANSPORTATION, while costly, may save the LEA funds in ADA, achievement, and overall student well-being. “One child; one school; one year” – research has shown that this stability dramatically improves scores and behaviors.

40. Q&A ON TRANSPORTATION KEY PROVISIONS STRATEGIES TO IMPLEMENT WHAT IS ALLOWED AND WHAT IS EFFICIENT

41. BASIC SERVICES: FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH • Categorical eligibility for homeless, runaway and migrant children and youth; • Documentation of free meal eligibility for homeless children; with email, M-V students should eat free the first day of enrollment; • Homeless children residing with another household; • Duration of eligibility.

42. Homeless Youth and CPS CPS-Involved Chart – When is a child related to CPS homeless?

43. CPS INVOLVED CHART WHILE EACH SITUATION MUST BE EXAMINED INDIVIDUALLY, IT MAY BE HELPFUL TO ACCESS THIS CHART IF A CHILD IS CPS-RELATED Chart

44. How Can Schools ENGAGE Children And Youth Experiencing Homelessness? • Model a commitment to the child’s education as the primary outcome – fight the urge to make attendance (ADA) or test scores the goal; • It is unacceptable to drop students with unexcused absences or to fail to enroll them in order to “fix” completion rates

45. How Can Schools ENGAGE Children And Youth Experiencing Homelessness? • Monitor attendance earlier in the process – use preventive strategies and rewards/incentives before attendance becomes an issue. Monitor FREQUENTLY – 1X a week. • Make sure the student feels • Welcome • Cared For • Productive

46. Unaccompanied Youth Many of the M-V guidelines for unaccompanied youth are not well understood The M-V laws are based on research about why youth become unaccompanied and what is in their best interest Not all unaccompanied youth are homeless

47. Uses of Title I for M-V Students • In March of 2014, changes to the Title I guidance indicated that Title I funds could now be used for two new purposes: • Completely fund the liaison’s salary even if the liaison is not involved with Title I duties; • Assist in school of origin “excess” transportation costs

48. New Title I Regs Graph

49. Unaccompanied Children and Youth • Unaccompanied: children and youthnot in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. • Is there an age range? No.McKinney-Vento applies to all school-aged children and youth as defined by state law.

50. Who Are Unaccompanied Children and Youth? Is there a citizenship requirement? No.Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe (1982)makes it unlawful for schools to deny access to undocumented immigrants or ask about immigration status. McKinney-Vento must be equally applied to undocumented students. To be considered “homeless”, an “unaccompanied youth” must also meet the definition of homelessness.