General McKinney-Vento

Data should be disaggregated for students who were homeless at any point during their high school career. See page 11 of the NCHE data guide: “Students who were homeless at any point during their high school career should be included in the calculation.”

No, McKinney-Vento funds cannot be used for housing. Many school districts seek donations or partner with community organizations to meet this need for their students.

The McKinney-Vento Act explicitly authorizes the use of subgrant funds for:

“The provision of tutoring, supplemental instruction, and enriched educational services that are linked to the achievement of the same challenging State academic standards as the State establishes for other children and youths.” 42 USC 11433(d)(1).

Therefore, you could probably make the case for the use of McKinney-Vento funds for this activity, as long as it is linked to the achievement of the “same challenging State academic standards as the State establishes for other children and youths.”

In addition, the Act authorizes the use of funds for: “The provision for homeless children and youths of before- and after-school, mentoring, and summer programs in which a teacher or other qualified individual provides tutoring, homework assistance, and supervision of educational activities.” 42 USC 11433(d)(8).

It is unclear what activities or supervision is included in the field trip, but that might be another provision to support it.

Getting input on your program from parents, caregivers, and students experiencing homelessness is very important.  They have a unique view of how your systems are working and where the barriers lie. However, it’s important to design opportunities for involvement that recognize the challenges of homelessness. For example, scheduling a meeting at school might not be successful. With everything going on in their lives, even parents who have obtained stable housing are unlikely to have time, transportation, child care, etc. to participate in something like this. In our work with youth, we have found that the best way to get participation from youth is to go where they are. For example, going to shelters and motels to talk to parents in a comfortable and non-threatening way can work. We have done focus groups with parents in motel lobbies, providing food and activities for children, and had good attendance and conversations.  You also can carve out opportunities for parents experiencing homelessness to participate in other parental engagement activities by assisting with transportation and child care. Convening a separate group in a location that requires parents to travel in their “spare” time is a risky strategy.

Some programs also incorporate parent and youth surveys. These can be online, so parents and students can complete them on a computer at the shelter, in school, at a library, etc.  Surveys also could be offered on paper, so they can be sent back and forth between home and school with the student. The survey could include the liaison’s contact information, so parents who want to share more ideas or meet with the liaison are provided information on how to do so.  The surveys could also be anonymous, but include a space for parents to enter contact information if they would like someone from the school to reach out to them.

Many school district McKinney-Vento programs create an independent non-profit organization or foundation (that is either affiliated with the school district by an MOU or is totally separate) to receive donations and grants. By going this route, the McKinney-Vento programs are not subject to any of the school district’s restrictions, and donors can receive appropriate tax benefits.

No, not in federal law or guidance. However, liaisons must be “able to carry out the duties described” in the McKinney-Vento Act. 42 USC 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii). There are ten specific duties described, which require a certain level of training, authority, and time to carry out. Our guidelines on designating LEA and school-level liaisons has more information.

The National Center for Homeless Education produces a handy guide to data collection for states, which spells out exactly what the U.S. Department of Education requires to be collected. You can download it here. Some states and districts collect additional information, particularly related to chronic absenteeism and school discipline. Those data consistently show disproportionalities for students experiencing homelessness, so we certainly encourage districts to look at those numbers locally.

In addition, our Education Leads Home campaign has created State Snapshots summarizing available data, including high school graduation rates.

Here are three clips you could consider using:
https://vimeo.com/188923159 – this video features young people who experienced homelessness.
https://vimeo.com/280746209 – we used this as part of our application to present at SXSW EDU.
https://youtu.be/KiKuxlpE6s8 – this is our Education Leads Home campaign video.

No, that would be fine, because it is extra-curricular and does not replace any regular academics or school activities. You’d need to be careful about stigma— so thinking about where and when the group meets, what it is called, how you advertise it, etc. But it wouldn’t be a segregation violation. It sounds like a great idea. We’re always amazed when our scholars say they’d never known there were other students like them, and how empowering it is for them to be together and share their stories.

There are some great sample documents, including some sample letters, in this document: http://kids-alliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/PCM_WEB_April2014.pdf

This manual is designed to support implementation of California’s partial credit law for foster youth (which now includes homeless youth), but much of it is applicable – or could be modified – for ESSA’s requirements on homeless youth. In particular, see pages 15 and page 19 for sample letters.

The core question in this situation is whether the fleas are creating a barrier to the students’ education. It appears that the students are attending school, and the fleas are not creating a health risk or preventing the children from participating fully in school. Based on that understanding, it is advisable to ask what the district would do if a non-McKinney-Vento student were bringing fleas to school. There could be several resolutions.

If for a non-McKinney-Vento student the district would:

1. Keep the student home until the student was flea-free: then the district could use McKinney-Vento funds to fumigate the home and eliminate that barrier to attendance. The expense would fit under “(16) The provision of other extraordinary or emergency assistance needed to enable homeless children and youths to attend school and participate fully in school activities.” Also, it should go without saying that the district cannot keep a McKinney-Vento student out of school due to fleas.
2. Do nothing: then it probably is not allowable to use McKinney-Vento funds to fumigate the home. The principal and liaison can explore other funding options to assist with fumigation, such as contacting vet offices, faith communities, or civic organizations.
3. Use donations, PTA funds, or other funds to pay to fumigate the student’s home: then again, it probably is not allowable to use McKinney-Vento funds to fumigate the home. The district should use the other funds it would use for another student.

State Coordinators have a specific requirement to coordinate and collaborate with juvenile courts, found at 42 USC 11432(f)(4)(B). Liaisons have a number of collaboration and coordination duties, including around identification. While juvenile courts are not specifically listed, many liaisons collaborate with juvenile courts, probation officers and detention facilities to help identify juvenile justice-involved students who are experiencing homelessness, to keep them in school and facilitate transitions out of detention facilities.

Students who qualify for McKinney-Vento services are still subject to the same discipline processes and procedures as housed students, unless the behavior giving rise to discipline is clearly related to homelessness (absences and tardies are good examples). The district is required to provide educational services to the students during a suspension or expulsion, as it would for any student suspended or expelled. These services are not required to be provided on site and could be provided in the shelter or another location.

Note that if the students are special education students, they would have additional rights related to student discipline under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

The McKinney-Vento Act remains in Title 42 of the U.S. Code. It can be cited as 42 US Code §§11431-11435.  The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) amended it, but didn’t change the title or section headings. ESSA’s amendments to Title I did change some of the section headings, so you should look those up online. You can see all the homelessness-related provisions of Title I, with their new citations, here: https://schoolhouseconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TitleIPartA.pdf

You can see the McKinney-Vento Act, as amended by ESSA, here: https://schoolhouseconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/TextofMV.pdf

The McKinney-Vento Act applies to public schools, including public charter schools. It does not apply to private or parochial schools, so the homelessness requirements on identification, enrollment, etc. do not apply. However, there is a Title IA reservation of funds for non-public schools, so homeless children attending non-public schools should receive services through that source.

Yes, McKinney-Vento funds can be used to purchase a washer and dryer for a program like this. It could fit under several allowable uses:

(7) The provision of services and assistance to attract, engage, and retain homeless children and youths, particularly homeless children and youths who are not enrolled in school, in public school programs and services provided to non homeless children and youths.  (The students are not coming to school due to hygiene and bullying.)

(12) The provision of specialized instructional support services (including violence prevention counseling) and referrals for such services.  (Teaching how to wash, how to cook, etc..  The inclusion of “violence prevention counseling” as a specific example shows that the term “specialized instructional support services” is much broader than typical academics or coursework)

(16) The provision of other extraordinary or emergency assistance needed to enable homeless children and youths to attend school and participate fully in school activities. (The students are not coming to school due to hygiene and bullying.)

The citations and language are:

“youths described in section 725(2) and youths separated from public schools are identified and accorded equal access to appropriate secondary education and support services, including by identifying and removing barriers that prevent youths described in this clause from receiving appropriate credit for full or partial coursework satisfactorily completed while attending a prior school, in accordance with State, local, and school policies.”  42 USC 11432(g)(1)(F)(ii)

and

“Each local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths, designated under paragraph (1)(J)(ii), shall ensure that …unaccompanied youths… have opportunities to meet the same challenging State academic standards as the State establishes for other children and youth, including through implementation of the procedures under paragraph (1)(F)(ii)” 42 USC 11432(g)(6)(A)(x)(II)

The school is within its rights to put interventions in place to improve attendance and tardiness. You are right that the school cannot punish tardiness due to homelessness. But, if the school takes steps like providing an alarm clock, putting something enticing in place first thing in the morning to encourage on-time arrival (an activity, breakfast, etc.), making sure appropriate transportation is available, etc., and the student just never shows up on time, the school can try interventions it would use with housed students. Of course, ideally those interventions would be positive and not punitive, since punitive interventions have been shown to be ineffective in most cases.

Yes. Liaisons must ensure that: “(ix) school personnel providing services under this subtitle receive professional development and other support.”

When you consider which school personnel provide McKinney-Vento services, and think about everything McKinney-Vento covers, essentially all school staff are “providing services under this subtitle.”

Yes. This could fit under several allowable uses found in 42 USC 11433(d):

“(7) The provision of services and assistance to attract, engage, and retain homeless children and youths, particularly homeless children and youths who are not enrolled in school, in public school programs and services provided to non homeless children and youths.” (The students are not coming to school due to hygiene and bullying)

“(12) The provision of specialized instructional support services (including violence prevention counseling) and referrals for such services.” (teaching how to wash, how to cook, etc.. The inclusion of “violence prevention counseling” as a specific example shows that the term “specialized instructional support services” is much broader than typical academics or coursework)

“(13) Activities to address the particular needs of homeless children and youths that may arise from domestic violence and parental mental health or substance abuse problems.” (Especially since the students will learn how to wash clothes, which is a skill they are not learning at home due to parental substance abuse)

“(16) The provision of other extraordinary or emergency assistance needed to enable homeless children and youths to attend school and participate fully in school activities.”

The pros outweigh the cons when it comes to building level-liaisons. Building-level liaisons tend to be in much closer contact with students and families, and therefore in a better position for identification. They also may know the resources at the school site better, and therefore can expedite services to students. Further, they can help assist with training and coordination among building-level staff. The only real con I can think of is that it does require good training of the building-level liaisons, and clear lines of communication, especially with turnover. Our Guidelines for Designating LEA-Level and Building-Level McKinney-Vento Liaisons provides more information.

The most recent federal appropriation for the McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth program was $85 million dollars, the highest appropriation ever and an increase of over 10% compared to the previous year. This McKinney-Vento funding is allocated to states by the federal government based on the state’s percentage share of poverty, the same as Title I funds. The amount of state allocations are available online here (see page 15). The state can retain up to 25% of the funds at the state level for administration and they must distribute at least 75% to LEAs through a competitive subgrant process. States that receive the minimum allocation ($150,000) can retain up to 50% at the state level.