PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

McKinney-Vento 101

Region 7

“We think sometimes poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.” ~Mother Teresa

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM��

The Scale of Homelessness

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• 1, 548, 191 homeless children were enrolled in public schools during the 2023-2024 school year (National Center for Homeless Education)

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• PA ranks 8^th in the U.S. for number of homeless students identified

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• 52,347 homeless children identified by ECYEH program in 2024-2025

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• 3,611 homeless children identified in Region 7 (2024-2025)

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM��

McKinney –Vento Homeless Act

• 2015 ESSA reauthorizes the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act originally enacted in 1987. New legislation signed by Barack Obama December 10, 2015
• Requires educational access, attendance, and success for children and youth experiencing homelessness.
• Provides states with funding to support statewide initiatives.
• PA ECYEH program covers 501 school districts, 29 intermediate units, 127 public charter schools, and 53 career-technical schools.
• Does not include private schools

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM��

Who is homeless?

• An individual who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence

Includes children and youth who are:

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• Sharing housing (doubled-up)
• Living in motels and hotels
• Living in emergency shelters or transitional housing
• Unaccompanied Youth-Abandoned, Runaways
• Living in cars, parks, public places, abandoned buildings, trailers, RVs, camping grounds

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM��

How vulnerable are you to becoming homeless?

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• Fire
• Flood
• Job Loss
• Eviction
• Domestic Violence
• Accident
• Illness

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Unaccompanied Youth

• Any child who is not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian
• Includes runaways, children thrown out of their home, been abandoned by parents or separated from parents for any other reason
• Must fit the McKinney-Vento definition of homeless
• No age range specified (Upper range determined by state)
• Temporary surrogate parents must be assigned to unaccompanied youth to make special education decisions if the youth does not have an authorized person

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Unaccompanied Youth

“The primary responsibility of the schools is to enroll and educate homeless children and youth in accordance with the McKinney-Vento Act, which neither authorizes, nor requires schools to make judgments about the validity of why a student is not living with a parent or guardian. Determinations of eligibility should be made on the student’s nighttime living arrangement, not the circumstances that caused the student to leave home.”

~National Center for Homeless Education

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Enrollment

Requires public schools to immediately enroll students experiencing homelessness even when lacking:

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• Proof of residency ****FERPA
• 1302 not required
• Guardianship
• Birth certificates, school records, or other documents
• Medical records, including immunization records
• Required dress code items, including uniforms

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******ID important for FAFSA and ACT 1

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�PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Enrollment Cont’d.

• School placement in:

-School of origin, if the parent and/or child wishes and it is feasible

-School in area of current residency

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• School of origin is defined as the school the child attended when

permanently housed or where they were last enrolled

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• If the child is unaccompanied, his/her wishes should be taken into consideration

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• No time limit on homelessness

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Transportation

• School districts are required to adopt policies and practices to ensure that transportation is provided to school of origin

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• Child’s right to attend their school of origin extends for the duration of their homelessness and for the remainder of the academic year, if they

become permanently housed

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• Title I monies can be used to transport a homeless student or former homeless student

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Addressing Needs of Students Experiencing Homelessness

LEAs must:

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• Set aside Title I funds
• Ensure immediate enrollment
• Enroll students in free breakfast and lunch programs
• Ensure access to instructional support/resources, special education and gifted programs
• Provide homeless awareness training
• Alert teachers of a student’s living situation (respecting privacy)
• Know laws pertaining to homeless children and remove barriers

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Addressing Needs of Students Experiencing Homelessness

LEAs must:

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• Post educational rights in schools and community
• Provide access for unaccompanied youth (must enroll without proof of guardianship)
• Have a dispute resolution procedure
• Refer to families to Pre-K services when applicable
• Publish homeless information on website and in handbooks
• Provide community resources to homeless families
• Identify students not of school age and refer to early childhood services
• Provide academic remediation and support interventions

(Absences due to homelessness must be excused)

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Best Interest Determination (Factors to Consider)

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• Mileage to original school (no limit)
• Age of child
• Special needs
• Time of school year
• Other siblings
• Domestic violence (Danger at school?)
• Pregnant teen and child care
• Parent/Guardian/Child choice

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Best Interest Determination (Factors to Consider)

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• How long are they likely to remain in current situation?
• Likelihood of establishing housing again in school of origin? (Permanency goal)
• How is the student performing academically? Will changing schools put the student further behind? (Credits for graduation)
• Social and emotional needs
• Extracurricular activities

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Both LEA liaisons should consult with necessary staff (counselors, teachers, Special Ed Department, coaches, administrators, parents/caregivers, etc.) and each other to make an informed decision.

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Dispute Resolution

LEA 🡪 Regional Coordinator 🡪 State Coordinator

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Formal Dispute 🡪 Legal 🡪 Court

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**If a dispute arises over school selection or enrollment, the child or youth involved must immediately be admitted to the school in which they are seeking enrollment, pending resolution of the dispute. A written explanation must be given if enrollment is denied. The parent/guardian or unaccompanied must also be informed of his/her right to appeal the school’s decision.

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Checklist After Identification

• Inform parent/student of McKinney-Vento rights (in writing)
• Provide community resources (assist if needed)
• Set up transportation
• Make sure student is receiving free lunch/breakfast
• Fill out intake form
• Discuss academic needs (remediation, credit recovery, etc.)
• Check Act 1 eligibility
• Refer to necessary school services (trauma informed, SAP, counseling, tutoring)
• Make plan to routinely check on student (discuss needs)
• Document correspondence
• Inform liaison and other appropriate staff members (teachers, principal, etc.) Discuss the living situation and any effect it will have on school work.
• Keep separate files for homeless/foster students

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Homeless Children Characteristics

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

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Difficulties for homeless students

• Ashamed of where they live
• Teased by other students about homelessness, hygiene and inabilities
• Misunderstood by parents (LGBTQ)
• Difficulty adjusting to new school
• No place to do homework
• Developmental delays augment feelings of failure

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Challenges for teachers

• Student attended many different schools with different teaching methods
• No school records
• Need to assess educational needs without prior records
• Student may move soon
• Other students react negatively
• Student might have difficulty trusting
• Inability to contact parents
• Parents often emotionally unavailable
• Homework completion can be difficult

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

What Staff Can Do

• Look for indicators that a student may be experiencing homelessness, and make a referral to the local homeless liaison.
• Build trust with students as a caring adult; listen carefully to their wishes and concerns.
• Contact the local liaison to make referrals for the student or family for needed services within the LEA and in the community.
• Examine a student’s school record for missing credits, and arrange for the student to recover credit for work partially completed.
• Ask the student what his or her interests are, in what extracurricular activities he or she participated in his or her former school, and then connect the student to appropriate activities.

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

What Staff Can Do

• Work with the student from a trauma-informed perspective, and link the student to counseling and other supports, as necessary.
• Be aware of risky and unsafe situations in which a youth might be involved; look especially for signs that an unaccompanied homeless youth is being trafficked or is in a dangerous relationship.
• Offer support for a student’s physiological needs (food, clothing), as well as his or her social/emotional needs (safety, security, and belonging).
• Help older students with life skills, such as financial literacy and healthy choices.
• Encourage the student and build hope for the future.

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

What the Staff Can Do

• Encourage students to plan to attend college.
• Make sure they enroll in college preparatory classes.
• Arrange for them to visit a college campus.
• Help older youth with the college search, application, and financial aid process, including completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which allows unaccompanied homeless youth to apply for aid as independent students.

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Title I Funding

Allowable Expenses

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• Academic services/supports(after school programs, tutoring, credit recovery)
• Clothing items/uniforms/shoes, meeting school requirements
• Conferences/in-service training
• Counseling services
• Educational material/books
• Fees (AP testing, college applications/entrance exams, GED, SAT/ACT, or other fees necessary to participate in the general education program)
• Food items
• Gift cards
• Graduation caps/gowns

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Title I Funding

Allowable Expenses

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• Health needs (medical appointments, glasses, hearing aids, immunizations, medication)
• Hygiene items
• Identification documents (birth certificates)
• Outreach services to students living in shelters, motels and other temporary residences)
• Parental and family engagement activities
• Salary/benefits (homeless liaison, reading specialist)
• School activities/events (after school clubs, field trips, prom tickets,

school pictures, sports)

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Title I Funding

Allowable Expenses

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• School supplies/backpacks
• Transportation
• Tutoring
• Wi-Fi/hotspots for students
• Yearbooks

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Title I Funding

Prohibited

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• Cannot supplant other state or local funds
• Rent
• Utilities
• Clothing for parents

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PENNSYLVANIA’S EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM���

Resources

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(PA ECYEH Program) http://homeless.center-school.org

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(Schoolhouse Connection) www.schoolhouseconnection.org

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(NAEHCY) www.naehcy.org

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(National Center for Homeless Education) https://nche.ed.gov/

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Contact Information

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Jeff Zimmerman Darci Berti Andy Kuhl

570-718-4613 570-718-4697 570-718-4646

jzimmerman@liu18.org dberti@liu18.org akuhl@liu18.org

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