McKinney-Vento Homeless
Education
Dana Scott
State Coordinator for the Education of
Homeless Children and Youth
Scott_d@cde.state.co.us
303-866-6930
Homelessness in the U.S.

1.35 million children
 10% of all children living in poverty are
homeless
 Over 40% of all children who are homeless
are under the age of 5
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Youth
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Causes of Homelessness

Lack of affordable housing
 Deep poverty
 Health problems
 Domestic violence
 Natural and other disasters
 Abuse/neglect (unaccompanied youth)
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Youth
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Barriers to Education for Children
& Youth in Homeless Situations
– High mobility
– Enrollment requirements (school records,
immunizations, proof of residence and guardianship)
– Lack of transportation
– Lack of access to programs
– Lack of school supplies, clothing, etc.
– Poor health, fatigue, hunger
– Prejudice and misunderstanding
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Homelessness in CO

In the 2008-09 school year, CO school districts
identified 15,834 homeless children and youth
 This represents a 25% increase from 2008-09
and over 100% increase since 2003-04.
 Primary factors contributing to this rise:
1) increase in children and youth becoming homeless
2) better identification efforts by Districts
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Who is considered homeless?

Anyone who lacks 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
– Abandoned in hospitals
Who is considered homeless? (cont.)
– 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.
– Youth on their own who lack a fixed, adequate and
regular primary nighttime residence
(unaccompanied youth)
Eligible or Not?
Gabriella M. lost her job and was evicted
from her apartment. She’s moved in with
her parents and wants to enroll her son,
John, in the local elementary school. She’s
planning to return to her former
neighborhood as soon as she gets back on
her feet.
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Youth
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Homeless and the Law
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Youth
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Maria Gonzales and her seven-year-old and nineyear-old daughters have just moved into a homeless
shelter. Maria visits the neighborhood school to
enroll her daughters. She is given a list of required
documents—items she does not have. Maria leaves,
believing her daughters cannot attend the school.
■ Should Maria be able to enroll her children?
■ What went wrong?
■ What should be done?
■ What could you do to prevent this from happening
in a school in your district?
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McKinney-Vento/
Title X, Part C of NCLB

Reauthorized in 2002 as Title X, Part C of No
Child Left Behind
 Mandated that state and local educational agencies
change policies and practices that create barriers to
the access and success of homeless children and
youth in public schools
 Recent emphasis on monitoring and compliance
for all local education agencies regardless of
subgrantee status
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Youth
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McKinney Vento Overview

Main themes:
– School stability
– School access
– Support for academic success
– Child-centered, best interest
decision making
Importance of School Stability
Research on School Mobility:
 Students who switch schools frequently score
lower on standardized tests;
– study found mobile students scored 20 points lower
than non-mobile students

Mobility also hurts non-mobile students;
– study found average test scores for non-mobile
students were significantly lower in high schools
with high student mobility rates

It takes children an average of 4-6 months to
recover academically after changing schools
Importance of School Stability
Research on School Mobility (cont):
 Students suffer psychologically, socially, and
academically from mobility;
– mobile students are less likely to participate in
extracurricular activities and more likely to act out
or get into trouble

Mobility during high school greatly diminishes
the likelihood of graduation;
– study found students who changed high schools
even once were less than half as likely as stable
students to graduate, even controlling for other
factors
Responsibilities for Districts
Includes:
– Ensuring access to school and appropriate services
– Reducing school transfers and enhancing
educational stability and continuity
– Strengthening parental choice and involvement
– Ensuring educational rights of unaccompanied
youth
– Ensuring access to public preschool programs for
young children experiencing homelessness
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Youth
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Educational Rights for Children and
Youth Experiencing Homelessness



A homeless education liaison in every public
school district
Right to immediate enrollment in school,
without proof of residency, immunizations,
school records, or other documents
Right to choose between the local school where
they are living and the “school of origin”
(school they attended before they lost their housing
or the school where they were last enrolled)
Educational Rights for Children and
Youth Experiencing Homelessness (Cont)

Right to transportation to their school of origin
 Right to be free from harassment and isolation.
Segregation based on a student’s status as homeless
is strictly prohibited
 Right to access to educational services for which
they are eligible including: IDEA services, ESL,
gifted and talented programs, vocational/ technical
education, and school nutrition programs
Educational Rights for Children and
Youth Experiencing Homelessness (Cont.)


Right to be notified of their options and rights
under McKinney-Vento. Liaisons must post
rights of students experiencing homelessness in
schools and other places in the community
Right to have disagreements with the school
settled quickly
Homeless Education
Liaisons
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Youth
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Principal Phil Branton noticed that students are arriving
at his school from a recently opened shelter in the
neighborhood. This is a new development, and Principal
Branton has had no experience working with homeless
families. Shelter workers are telling him the children can
enroll even if they cannot fulfill the school district’s
enrollment requirements.
■ Who can Principal Branton contact to learn about his
responsibilities when enrolling students experiencing
homelessness?
■ What other information and resources might Principal
Branton need to best serve these new students?
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Youth
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Role and Responsibilities of
Homeless Education Liaisons

Outreach
– Ensure parents/guardians and unaccompanied youth are
fully informed of all educational rights
– Post educational rights in all schools in the district
– Post educational rights in community places
– Inform school personal, service providers and advocates of
the duties of the liaison
Free educational rights posters are available at www.serve.org/nche
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Role and Responsibilities of
Homeless Education Liaisons (cont)

Policy and Procedure Review
– Review local policies and procedures that may impact
homeless children and youth, such as enrollment and
access to programs, transportation, etc…
– Revise those that are determined to be potential barriers
for homeless children and youth
Sample CASB policy is available for Colorado liaisons
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Role and Responsibilities of
Homeless Education Liaisons (cont)

Identification and Determining Eligibility
– Collaborate with community agencies, including shelters,
to identify homeless children and youth
– Offer trainings to District staff on how to identify
children and youth experiencing homelessness and their
educational needs
– Obtain information from families and youth to determine
eligibility and make best interest determinations
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Youth
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Role and Responsibilities of
Homeless Education Liaisons (cont)

Facilitating Enrollment
– Determine school placement (school of origin vs.
attendance area school)
– Remove barriers to ensure immediate enrollment
regardless of district residency requirements,
guardianship paperwork, immunization paperwork,
transcripts, etc…
– May include reviewing district policies and procedures
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Best Interest Determinations









Continuity of instruction
Age of the child or youth
Safety of the child or youth
Length of stay at the shelter
Likely area where family will find permanent housing
Student’s need for special instructional programs
Impact of commute on education
School placement of siblings
Time remaining in the school year
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Role and Responsibilities of
Homeless Education Liaisons (cont)

Ensuring Access to Educational Services
– Free and Reduced Lunch- categorical eligibility
– Title I – categorical eligibility. Also, every District must
have as a part of the Title I application, a plan to serve
homeless students and must “set aside” funds “necessary”
to serve homeless students in the district
– IDEA
– Gifted and Talented
– Transportation!!!!!
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Youth
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Transportation Provisions



Districts must provide students experiencing homelessness
with transportation to and from their school of origin, at a
parent’s or guardian’s request (or at the liaisons request for
unaccompanied youth)
If the student’s temporary residence and the school of
origin are in the same district, that district must provide or
arrange transportation
If the student is living outside of the school of origin’s
district, the district where the student is living and the
school of origin’s district must determine how to divide the
responsibility and share the cost, or they must share the
cost equally
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Youth
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Role and Responsibilities of
Homeless Education Liaisons (cont)

Data Collection and Reporting
– End of year report on students numbers and other
information due from every district to the USDE
(regardless of number of students identified)
– “Key Survey” – see handout
– Usually occurs Sept-Dec with a December deadline
to CDE
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Youth
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Role and Responsibilities of
Homeless Education Liaisons (cont)

Dispute Resolution
– If the district decision regarding eligibility or
school placement differs from the parent/guardian
or unaccompanied youth, written documentation
must be sent to the parent/youth notifying them of
their right to appeal
– Dispute resolution process and documents can be
found on CDE’s McKinney webpage at:
www.cde.state.co.us/cdeprevention/homeless_disputes.htm
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Role and Responsibilities of
Homeless Education Liaisons (cont)

Unaccompanied Youth
– Assist unaccompanied youth in school enrollment and
–
–
–
–
placement decisions
Ensure unaccompanied youth are enrolled immediately
and are fully participating in school
Facilitate dispute resolution process, if needed
Connect unaccompanied youth with school and
community resources
Review and revise McKinney district
policies to include unaccompanied youth
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Role and Responsibilities of
Homeless Education Liaisons (cont)

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Your Program
– Ensure district-wide compliance
– Conduct needs assessments
– Develop data collection systems for tracking and
evaluating your work
– Evaluation process could include comparing
against the national standards and indicators for
MV, feedback through surveys or interviews,
other…
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Awareness Building
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What about your specific District?
How do you build awareness at the:
District Level?
School Level?
Classroom Level?
In the Community?
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Collaboration
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What about your specific District?

Most individuals working in school districts
understand the importance of collaboration
– Who in your district are vital partners for
collaboration?
– Who are important partners in the outside
community?
– How do you find out about potential partners?
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Youth
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New Developments and Opportunities

FAFSA Fix for Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

CO Higher Education Initiative for Unaccompanied
Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Head Start Reauthorization- MV Provisions

ARRA Funding and SLV BOCES Grant
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Youth
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Resources
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Local, State and National Partners
in Educating Homeless Children and Youth
Colorado Department of Education (CDE)
Dana Scott, State Coordinator for the Educ. of Homeless Children and Youth
Ph: 303-866-6930 Email: scott_d@cde.state.co.us
www.cde.state.co.us/cdeprevention/homeless_index.htm
National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE)
www.serve.org/nche Ph: 336-315-7453
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