Homeless Flag: Definition and Outcomes August 4, 2016 Joseph Curiel, Results Measurement Specialist Joseph.curiel@state.mn.us

The federal law The McKinney-Vento Act (1987): Ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness Dictates that every Local Educational Agency (LEA) must designate an appropriate staff person as a local homeless education liaison

The definition The McKinney-Vento Act (Section 725) Children and youth (including preschoolers) who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence Children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing Children and youth living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, cars, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, camping grounds Children and youth living in emergency or transitional shelters Children who have been abandoned in hospitals Migratory (or immigrant) children and youth who are living in a situation described above

Exercise Get creative: Think of a living situation(s) that may be unclear whether or not to flag the student as homeless given the legal definition Describe that situation(s) on your sticky note

Identification Students are flagged in MARSS Once identified, students retain the flag for the remainder of the school year Identification is up to the homeless liaison (and the LEA) Families may not know about the act Families may choose to take advantage of services but the LEA should still count students as homeless

Identification struggles Families may not disclose their situation Children can go unnoticed Students and parents try to ‘hide’ their situation Families fear social agencies’ ability to ‘take their children’ Older children may not report, because they fear being returned to an unsafe home Families who are sheltering other relatives (doubling up) may be very invisible and hard to locate

Requirements Identify homeless children and youth Ensure that children and youth experiencing homelessness enroll in, and have a full and fair opportunity to succeed in school Ensure that families, children and youth receive educational services for which they are eligible, including Head Start, Even Start and other public preschool programs, and referrals to health care, dental, mental health and other appropriate services

Requirements (continued) Inform parents and guardians of the educational and related opportunities available to their children and provide them with meaningful opportunities to participate in that education Disseminate public notice of educational rights Ensure that enrollment disputes are mediated Inform families and youth about transportation services and assist them in accessing transportation Must provide transportation to and from the “school of origin” if in the students’ best interest

Exercise Unique living situation: What living situations are unclear whether or not to flag the student as homeless given the legal definition?

Homeless flag statewide 2013 = 9265, 2014 = 10364, 2015 = 11623

Homeless student demographics Consider: As we describe homeless student demographics, ask yourself “what else do I want to know about the homeless student population?” Write your thoughts on a sticky note

Concentrations of homelessness by ethnicity

Concentrations of homelessness over time

Concentrations of homelessness by special populations

Homelessness Grade Variation 1 1.6% 2 3 1.5% 4 5 1.3% 6 1.2% 7 8 9 1.1% 10 11 1.0% 12 1.8% Statewide 1.4% Speculation? Why do you think grade 12 stands out?

Persistence of homelessness Given that the overall % has increased, this tells us we are mostly just cycling through new homeless students

Homeless student demographics Your thoughts: “What else do I want to know about the homeless student population?”

Homeless student outcomes Consider: As we describe homeless student outcomes, ask yourself “what other outcomes might be influenced by homelessness?” Write your thoughts on a sticky note

Homelessness and attendance by ethnicity Focusing on Black and American Indian because they have the highest concentration of % homeless

Homelessness and attendance by grade level

Homelessness and math proficiency by ethnicity

Homelessness and reading proficiency by ethnicity

Homelessness and graduation rates by ethnicity

Homeless student outcomes Your thoughts: “What other outcomes might be influenced by homelessness?”

A study on stable housing Collaboration between MDE and Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Assess the impact of rent subsidy (stable housing) for homeless students on attendance, school mobility, test scores Quasi-experimental matched comparison study Results in 2017