1. Title I and Homeless Education: A Winning Team
Lynda Thistle Elliott, Ed.D.
State Coordinator/Homeless Education

2. The McKinney Vento Act Who Is Homeless?
Students who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence
Living in shelters, hotels, motels, camping grounds
Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings
Sharing housing (doubled up) due to loss of housing or economic hardship
Awaiting foster care placement
Migratory children who qualify as homeless
Unaccompanied youth living in the situations above

3. Educational rights Guaranteed by McKinney-Vento Act
Immediate enrollment and full participation in classes
Enrollment without documents normally required
Attendance in the school of origin
Transportation to the school of origin
Comparable services
Attending school with non-homeless children and youth

4. How are these rights enacted?
Local liaison in every school district
McKinney-Vento is part of NCLB
Title I serves at-risk students (homeless automatically included)
Collaboration among school programs
Collaboration among community agencies and resources

5. Title I and Homelessness Key Provisions
A child or youth who is homeless and attending any school in the district is automatically eligible for Title IA services.
Districts must reserve or set-aside Title l funds to provide comparable services to homeless students
Attending non-Title I schools in the district and;
In grade levels not served by T1.

6. Title I and Homelessness cont.
A state must include in its Title I plan a description of how the plan is coordinated with the McKinney-Vento Act
An LEA Title I application must include a description of how it is coordinated with the McKinney-Vento Act.
School wide programs must do a needs assessment and address the needs of all students in the school.
Targeted Assistance Schools must provide services to children who have the greatest need for special assistance—NCLB specifically lists homeless children as being eligible.
Collaboration with the local homeless education liaison is an integral part of coordination with the McKinney-Vento Act.

7. Title I Set Aside Funds
An LEA must reserve funds for homeless children may provide support services to children in shelters and other locations where homeless children live.
An LEA may use reserved funds to provide services to eligible homeless students in both Title I and non-Title I schools that are comparable to those for non-homeless students in Title I schools.
An LEA may use reserved funds to provide a homeless student with services that are not available from other sources and or not ordinarily provided by Title I.

8. How are set aside amounts determined?
Review needs and costs involved in serving homeless students in the current year and project for the following year.
Multiply the number of homeless students by the Title IA per pupil allocation.
For districts with subgrants, reserve an amount greater than or equal to the MV funding request.
Reserve a percentage based on the district’s poverty level or total Title IA allocation.

9. Resources
National Center for Homeless Education,
National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty,
NH Dept. of Education,