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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Resources National Center for Homeless Education, http://www.serve.org/nche National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, http://nlchp.org NH Dept. of Education, http://www.ed.state.nh.us