What’s Hot and What’s Not:
A Federal Policy Update
Barbara Duffield, Policy Director
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children & Youth
23rd Annual Conference
Pittsburgh, PA
November 7, 2011
McKinney-Vento Funding: Current Status
• Current level: $65.3 million
• President’s budget: $65.3 million
• This funding has not changed significantly in four
years, while the number of homeless students in
preK-12 has increased by 38% over the same time
period
• Reached 18% of all school districts nationwide
with ARRRA dollars; much fewer now
What about Head Start, HUD, and
USDA?
• Still waiting for HUD regulations on its new
definition of homelessness (law passed May
2009; proposed regulations and comment
period closed June 2010)
• Still waiting on Head Start regulations (law
passed December 2007; proposed regulations
on verifying eligibility and comment period
closed June 2011).
• USDA interim rule on free meals (law passed in
2004; comment period closed October 2012).
LIHTC and Homeless Youth
Housing
• Low Income Housing Tax Credit Housing
• “Student Rule” – prohibits residents from living
in LIHTC housing if they are full-time students
• Foster youth, single mothers, parents on cash
assistance are exempted from this rule
• Unaccompanied homeless youth are not; forced
to choose between housing and education
• Congressman McDermott (D-WA) and Paulsen
(R-MN) introduced legislation, H.R. 3076, that
adds UHY to exemptions
FY2012 Appropriations
• Senate and House FY2012 Labor-HHS-Education
bills passed out of Committee: level funding for
EHCY
• Budget climate is very difficult due to deficit
reduction and pre-election politics
• Still, the needs at the community and state level
must be made known
• www.naehcy.org/update.html
McKinney-Vento EHCY Reauthorization:
Legislation Introduced
• Reauthorization is the opportunity to make
substantive changes to the law
• March 2011: S. 571, “The Educational
Success for Children and Youth Without
Homes Act of 2011” introduced in U.S.
Senate (Murray/Franken/Begich)
• March 2011: H.R. 1253, introduced in U.S.
House (Biggert/Kildee/Grijalva)
McKinney-Vento EHCY Reauthorization:
Status Update
• US Senate HELP Committee passed the
“Elementary and Secondary Education
Reauthorization Act of 2011” on October 20
• US House: passing smaller bills rather than
one large ESEA bill. No M-V legislation yet
• NAEHCY goal: to see as many S.571/HR
1253 provisions included in these bills
• Unlikely to see final passage of ESEA this
year, but creates starting point for next
Congress
Major Issues in M-V EHCY
Reauthorization
• McKinney-Vento Personnel: State Coordinators
and Local Liaisons
• School Stability Provisions (“Feasibility”)
• Enrollment
• Transportation
• Disputes
• Credits/Academic Support
• Extra-curricular activities
• Unaccompanied Youth
• Preschool Children
• Funding Level
• Title I, Part A Setasides
• Children and Youth in Foster Care
McKinney-Vento Personnel:
State Coordinators, Local Liaisons
Issues: lack of time; lack of training; lack of
resources
Senate Committee ESEA bill:
– Local liaisons designated by LEAs must
have “sufficient training and time” to
carry out their duties.
– State coordinators must have
“sufficient knowledge, authority, and
time” to carry out their duties.
School Selection Provisions
Issues: “to the extent feasible” weakens law; problems with feeder
schools
Senate Committee ESEA bill:
– Presumption that school of origin is in best interest,
unless
• Against parent/guardian/youth wishes
• Best interest determination based on student-centered factors -
including the impact of mobility on achievement, education,
health, and safety of homeless children and youth - weighs in
favor of local enrollment
– The best interest determination must prioritize the wishes of
parent or youth
– If the LEA determines school of origin is not in the best
interest, guardian, youth: written notice/appeal must be
provided
Enrollment Provisions
Issues: fees remain a significant barrier
Senate Committee ESEA bill:
– Clarifies immediate enrollment, even if
student owes fees or is unable to pay fees
in school selected
– Clarifies records must be released even if
student owes fees or is not withdrawn in
accordance with local procedures
Transportation Provisions
Issues: lack of funding creates
implementation problems; subgrants don’t
reach all LEAs
Senate Committee ESEA bill:
– Explicitly authorizes Title I Part A to be
used for transportation to school of origin
Academic Support, Extra-Curricular
Activities
Senate Committee ESEA bill:
• States must have procedures to ensure that homeless
children and youth who meet the relevant eligibility criteria
are able to participate in Federal, State, or local beforeand after-school care, magnet schools, summer schools,
career and technical education, advanced placement online
learning opportunities, charter school programs, and
relevant workforce investment programs.
• SEAs and LEAs must adopt policies and practices to promote
school success, including access to full participation in
academic and extra-curricular activities that are made
available to non-homeless students.
Credit Accrual
Issue: Youth lose credits due to mobility, late enrollment
Senate Committee ESEA bill:
• States must have procedures to ensure that homeless
youth receive credit for coursework satisfactorily
completed while attending a prior school and for work
completed after their enrollment in a new school,
consistent with State graduation requirements and
accreditation standards.
Public Notice
Senate Committee ESEA bill:
• Local liaisons must ensure that public notice of the
educational rights of homeless children and youth is:
– incorporated into documents related to residency
requirements or enrollment;
– provided upon school enrollment and withdrawal;
– posted on the local educational agency's website; and
– disseminated in locations frequented by parents or
guardians of such children and youth, and
unaccompanied youth, including schools, shelters, public
libraries, and soup kitchens, in a manner and form
understandable to parents and guardians of homeless
children and youth, and unaccompanied youth.
Privacy
Senate Committee ESEA bill:
• Schools must treat information about a homeless child
or youth’s living situation as a student education
record, and may not release this information to
housing providers, employers, law enforcement
personnel, or other persons not authorized.
• Schools must pay particular attention to preventing
disruption of the living situations of homeless children
and youth, and supporting the safety of children and
youth who are survivors of domestic violence, and
unaccompanied youth.
Unaccompanied homeless youth
Issues: concerns about liability, FAFSA verification
Senate Committee ESEA bill:
• Requires local liaisons to ensure that unaccompanied homeless youth:
– Are enrolled in school;
– have opportunities to meet the same college and career ready State
student academic achievement standards which other students are
held, including through the credit accrual and school success
provisions of the McKinney-Vento Act; and
– are informed of their status as independent students for financial aid
and receive verification for the FAFSA.
• Protects school districts from liability for enrolling an unaccompanied
homeless youth in accordance with the McKinney-Vento Act.
Preschool Children
• Issues: MV’s reach is narrow; lack of capacity, fragmented nature
of early childhood programming creates barriers
• Senate Committee ESEA bill:
• Requires preschool programs funded, administered, or overseen
by State agencies to identify and prioritize homeless preschool
children for enrollment, including through reserving slots,
conducting targeted outreach, waiving application deadlines,
professional development, and developing the capacity to serve
all homeless children
Funding
• Senate Committee ESEA bill:
• Authorizes “such sums as may be necessary” for
FY2012 and each of the six successive years.
Title I Part A: Set-asides
• Issues: too many “loopholes” in law; problematic
interpretations from ED
• Senate Committee ESEA Bill:
• The setaside amount must be based on a needs assessment that
includes information on child, youth and family homelessness in
the LEA obtained through collaboration with other agencies, as
well as the number of homeless children and youth the LEA
identified the previous year.
• Specifically authorizes funds reserved for homeless children and
youth under Title I to be used for local liaisons, transportation to
the school of origin, services for preschool children and high
school students, and removing barriers to homeless students’
enrollment, attendance, retention, and success in school.
Children and Youth in Foster Care
Consensus: School of origin rights and immediate
enrollment for foster youth should be included in ESEA
(reciprocal mandates to Fostering Connections, which
requires child welfare agencies to coordinate with
school districts on stability and enrollment)
Controversy and conflicts:
• Transportation – Is it required? Who pays?
• Liaisons for foster youth – Are they required? How to
ensure that this requirement doesn’t result in less
time, attention, and services for homeless children
and youth?
Children and Youth in Foster Care
Senate Committee ESEA Bill:
Creates a new section of Title I Part A that:
• Requires State Education Agencies (SEAs) to collaborate
with state child welfare agencies to ensure that:
– Children and youth in foster care remain in their school
of origin unless it is not in their best interest, and to be
immediately enrolled in a new school if that is in their
best interest;
– Records are immediately transferred to a new school;
– Graduation and achievement data on youth in foster
care are disaggregated; and
– Foster youth receive credit for work done satisfactorily
in a previous school.
Children and Youth in Foster Care
Senate Committee ESEA Bill:
• Requires SEAs to enter into an agreement with the
state child welfare agency within a year of enactment
to ensure that children and youth in foster care
receive transportation to their schools of origin.
• The agreement must describe 1) how foster care
maintenance payments will be used to help fund the
transportation of children in foster care to their
schools of origin, and 2) how children who leave foster
care will receive transportation to maintain their
enrollment in their schools of origin for the remainder
of the academic year, if remaining in their schools of
origin is in their best interests.
Children and Youth in Foster Care
Senate Committee ESEA Bill:
• Requires that each SEA and every LEA that receives
Title I Part A funding designate an individual to serve
as a point of contact for child welfare agencies. The
point of contact is responsible for overseeing the
implementation of the new foster care education
requirements.
• The foster care point of contact cannot be the
McKinney-Vento homeless education coordinator,
unless that individual has the capacity, resources, and
time to perform both roles.
• Creates a new setaside under Title I Part A for
children and youth in foster care to help fund the
position of LEA “point of contacts” for foster youth.
Next Steps
• Unclear if the bill will reach the Senate
floor this Fall, or when House will act
• Important to communicate concerns with
legislators
• For legislative emails, send email request to
bduffield@naehcy.org (or give me your
card/paper with email address)
• For web updates:
www.naehcy.org/update.html