Safety

Trauma

Students experiencing Homelessness

Identifying and Serving Students Experiencing Trauma and/or Homelessness

​

All Hazards Plan

Childhood Trauma

Childhood Trauma

Did you learn anything new about trauma?

​

​

What might be the implications in a classroom setting?

McKinney-Vento Act

McKinney-Vento is a federal law established to ensure the continuity of education for students experiencing homelessness.

Homelessness is defined as lacking a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.

• Fixed: Not moving or in a car.
• Regular: Normal routine
• Adequate: Own bed/ bedroom, heat, water, and electricity.

What Are The Numbers?

Public Schools and Agencies Identified Displaced Students in 2017-2018…

​

Pennsylvania: 36,823

​

Region 2: 8,937

​

Berks County: 2,279

​

Kutztown SD: 14

​

​

Unaccompanied Youth: 18-20% of homeless students identified are unaccompanied youth in PA.

​

McKinney-Vento Act

• Receive a free, appropriate public education
• Enroll in school immediately and attend classes while the school gathers required documents
• Enroll in the local school where they are living, OR remain in their original school
• Receive transportation to their original school, if requested
• Receive comparable services as housed students, including special education services.
• Receive free lunch
• Categorically eligible for services such as Head Start and Title One services
• Right to Dispute

What does child homelessness look like?

McKinney-Vento Act

​

​

​

​

Defines Homelessness as:

• Living in shelters or transitional housing
• Living in cars, parks, substandard housing
• Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing or economic hardship (Doubled-Up)
• Living in hotels/motels or campgrounds
• Migrant youth who are living in above situations
• Unsheltered

​

​

​

​

Events Leading to Homelessness

• Job loss - loss of income
• Lack of affordable housing
• Domestic violence
• Fire, Flood, Natural Disaster etc.
• Eviction
• Abandonment
• Illness
• Incarceration of parent
• Parent’s deportation

​

​

​

What happens when a student becomes housed (no longer homeless)?

• A homeless student who becomes housed during the year retains all the rights under McKinney-Vento for the remainder of the year.
• Once housed, students may remain in their school of choice for the remainder of the year and receive transportation if necessary.
• McKinney-Vento eligibility should be reevaluated each year.

What type of accommodations may a district be required to offer?

Extra Curriculars

Credit accrual

Title 1 set aside funds

• Clothing, shoes, school supplies, eye glasses, or hearing aids
• Student fees that are necessary to participate in the general education program and college application or entrance fees
• Birth certificates, immunizations, food, medical and dental services, counseling, or outreach services
• Extended learning time, tutoring services, or parental involvement activities
• Transportation costs (gas cards, mileage reimbursement, or public transportation fees are allowable)

​

​

Educational Barriers

• Inability to meet enrollment requirements
• High mobility resulting in lack of school stability
• Lack of transportation
• Lack of school supplies and clothing
• Lack of awareness and support school staff
• Poor health, fatigue, and hunger
• Truancy due to displacement

​

Parents and child move in with another family (doubled-up) in another school district outside the geographical area of the school district of origin (Allentown to Pittsburgh).

Which school district is responsible for educating the child and what about multiple occupancy?

Scenario

Parents and child move in with another family (doubled-up) in another school district outside the geographical area of the school district of origin (Allentown to Pittsburgh).

​

Scenario

In this situation, since it would not be feasible to transport the child to the school district of origin, the school district in which the family is living doubled-up would be responsible for the education. Since the child is not in a shelter, facility, or institution, the child shall be reported as a resident.

How do you recognize child homelessness?

Red Flags of Homelessness

• Attendance at several schools
• More than one family at the same address
• Sleeping in class
• Inappropriate dress for the weather
• Hunger and hoarding of food
• Attention seeking behavior
• Missing class for a long period of time

​

​

Ricky is in second grade. He is identified as homeless because he lives in a motel with his mom due to an eviction. Ricky has missed over 50 days of school so far this year. School staff has called mom multiple times, however she instantly becomes belligerent on the phone and hangs up immediately.

• What would you do?

Scenario

Determining Eligibility

Determining Homelessness�

What is the family’s living arrangement? Fixed? Regular? Adequate?

​

• Fixed: Stationary (not a car)
• Regular: Normal, routine, used on a regular basis.
• Adequate: Sufficient for meeting both physical and psychological needs. (adequate privacy, space, infrastructure, etc).

Determining Homelessness: � Key Questions�

​

​

​

​

• What is the student’s nighttime residency?
• What is the family’s living arrangement?
• What event occurred to cause homelessness?
• Is the present living arrangement permanent or temporary?
• Is the family in sub-standard housing?

Homeless Liaison makes McKinney-Vento eligibility determinations.

Sensitivity

Other terms to use instead of homeless:

• In transition
• Displaced
• Without your own home
• Cover under McKinney-Vento Act

​

Parents and youth often do NOT consider themselves to be in a homeless situation. If they are living under a roof, they generally do NOT identify themselves as homeless. Use sensitivity and confidentiality when working with displaced families and youth.

Sally is a 16 year old who attends School District A. Sally is fighting with her mom and doesn’t want to live at home. Sally moves in with her friend and sleeps on his couch near in School District B.

• Is Sally homeless?
• What should happen next?

Scenario

Unaccompanied Youth

Unaccompanied Youth

Not in the physical custody of a parent/guardian

AND

Does not have a fixed, regular, or adequate nighttime residence.

Unaccompanied youth do not need a precipitating event to be classified as homeless.

Causes Leading to Becoming an Unaccompanied Youth…

• Family dysfunction
• Neglect
• Abuse
• Parental incarceration
• Parental illness
• Parental deportation
• Death of parent
• Aging out of foster care
• Family becomes homeless and cannot secure shelter for the entire family.
• Abandonment

​

Rights of Unaccompanied Youth

Unaccompanied youth receive the same rights as other displaced students plus…

• The right to enroll in school as an independent student.

​

• The right to the same challenging academic standards as housed students, including partial credit and credit recovery when needed.

​

• The right to be informed of their status as independent students for FAFSA and receive verification of that status.

​

What is the age limit to qualify as an unaccompanied youth?

NONE!

​

The McKinney-Vento Act includes no program specific age requirements to qualify as an unaccompanied homeless youth.

​

How can a school district enroll an unaccompanied youth without a parent?

• The student enrolls himself/herself using a self-enrollment form
• An adult caregiver enrolls the student
• The local liaison enrolls the student

​

An unaccompanied youth is absent and needs excuse cards signed. Who signs them?

The school district must develop policies on how they will handle signature issues for unaccompanied youth. The youth may sign for themselves or the district can assign someone to act as their surrogate.

How is an unaccompanied youth’s independent status handled if the student has an IEP?

• Every attempt needs to be made to include the parent in the student’s educational process.

​

• If no parent is available, a surrogate parent must be assigned. This can be an adult caregiver with whom the child is residing, shelter personnel or a surrogate assigned by the LEA.

​

​