1. ESSA Changes
TITLE SLIDE
ECYEH - Fall 2016

2. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
When will the McKinney-Vento changes under ESSA be implemented? All changes will take effect October 1, The exception is the removal of “awaiting foster care” from the definition of McKinney-Vento, which will take place on December 10, 2016.

3. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
What are the responsibilities of the local liaison for homeless children and youth?
Homeless students are identified by school personnel through outreach and coordination with other entities.
Homeless students are enrolled in, and have full access to succeed in school, including participation in extracurricular activities.
Homeless students and families have access to services which they are eligible, including services for preschool students through Head Start and Early Intervention programs.
Enrollment disputes are mediated in accordance with the requirements of the McKinney-Vento Act.

4. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
What are the responsibilities of the local liaison for homeless children and youth? (continued)
Homeless students and families receive referrals to health, dental, mental health, and substance abuse services, housing services, and other appropriate services.
Parents or guardians of homeless students are informed about educational related opportunities available to their children and are provided with meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children.
Public notice of the educational rights of homeless students is shared in locations frequented by parents, in a manner that they can understand.

5. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
What are the responsibilities of the local liaison for homeless children and youth? (continued)
Parents and guardians and unaccompanied youth are fully informed of all transportation services, including transportation to and from the school of origin and are assisted in accessing transportation services;
School personnel receive professional development and other support;
Unaccompanied youth are enrolled in school, and are informed of their status as independent students under section 480 of the Higher Education Act and their right to receive verification of this status from the local liaison.

6. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
Are children who are awaiting foster care placement still eligible for services under the McKinney-Vento Act?
Only until December 10, After this date, the term “awaiting foster care” will be removed from the definition of McKinney-Vento. There are new provisions for ensuring the educational stability of children in foster care.

7. Foster Care Provisions Under ESSA
These provisions emphasize the importance of limiting educational disruption by keeping children who move in foster care (due to entering the foster care system or changing placements) in their school of origin unless it is determined to be in their best interest to change schools.
These provisions also ensure that if they must change schools, that they do so without delay. Students can enroll in a new school without delay, even without documentation normally required for enrollment.
LEAs should designate a foster-care liaison. This role, similar to the homeless liaison, will ensure the educational stability for children in foster care.
See the Foster Care-Non-Regulatory Guidance for more information.

8. POP QUIZ
What are 2 ways liaisons can ensure school personnel providing McKinney-Vento services receive professional development and other support?
Offer trainings to staff annually at in-service days or staff meetings or ask your regional ECYEH office to train your staff.
Create building-level liaisons in larger districts to assist with implementation and training.
Offer informal trainings with role-alike staff (registrars, secretaries, principals, counselors, etc.)

9. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
What are some steps that LEAs can take to ensure all homeless students are identified?
Housing Questionnaire upon registration and referral forms available to staff.
Include the liaison’s contact information on the district website, posters, brochures, and other handouts, in a language that is understandable to the parent and student.
Provide training for school staff at least once annually that focuses on the definition of homelessness, signs of homelessness, and the importance of educational stability.
Develop interagency partnerships for easier coordination of services for homeless students.

10. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
How does an LEA determine the child’s or youth’s “best interest”?
Must assume that keeping a student in their school of origin is in the student’s best interest. (except when contrary to the wishes of the student)
Must consider the impact of mobility on the student’s achievement, health, and safety.
Must give priority to the parent’s (or student’s) request.
Should consider the school placement of siblings.

11. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
What if the LEA determines that it is not in the child’s or youth’s best interest to attend the school of origin or school requested by the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth?
The LEA must provide the family with a written explanation of their decision, including information on their right to appeal the school’s decision.
Appeals can be directed to the regional or state office.

12. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
What process should districts follow if there is a McKinney-Vento dispute?
Districts are required to inform the parent in writing of their decision, including:
The proposed action and reasons why the district refused this action
A description of other options and factors considered by the district
A timeline for next steps
Information on the parent’s right to appeal

13. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
What process should districts follow if there is a McKinney-Vento dispute? (continued)
Districts should work with families to attempt to resolve disputes at the local level. Districts may call the regional office for assistance with dispute resolution.
Parents should be informed of their right to legal and advocacy services to assist if necessary.
If the parent files a formal complaint, the dispute process determined by PDE must be followed. The state/regional office has 20 business days to investigate the situation and offer a resolution. The student must be allowed to enroll during the dispute process.

14. POP QUIZ
When a parent or youth appeals a school’s decision, the student must be ______________________ enrolled in the school ________________________________ while the dispute is pending. ANSWER: When a parent or youth appeals a school’s decision, the student must be immediately enrolled in the school where enrollment is being sought while the dispute is pending.

15. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
What responsibilities do schools have to provide transportation for homeless students?
Schools are responsible for revising any transportation policies that may act as a barrier for homeless students to access expedited transportation services.
After October 1, 2016, homeless students that become permanently housed in another district, are entitled to continued enrollment and transportation services to their school of origin for the remainder of the school year.

16. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
Are homeless students eligible to receive Title I, Part A services? Yes. Homeless students are eligible for Title I, Part A services and programs even if they do not reside in a Title I attendance area or meet academic criteria. If the student will benefit from these services, they are entitled to participate.

17. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
What can Title I, Part A set-aside funds be used for with regard to supporting homeless students?
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)
Homeless liaison’s salary

18. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
How should the amount of Title I, Part A set-aside funds be determined?
Districts can do a needs assessment to track the needs of homeless students and determine an appropriate amount.
Districts should consider the number of homeless student and their unique needs, as well as excess costs to support these students. Analyzing these statistics over the course of several years is helpful in making this determination.
Coordination between the homeless liaison and Title I Coordinator is key!

19. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
Do McKinney-Vento Act requirements apply to homeless children attending preschool?
Yes. LEAs with public preschool programs must adhere to the same requirements for school-age students, under the McKinney-Vento Act.
Things to consider when making a best interest determination for preschool students:
The child’s attachment to preschool teachers and staff
The impact of the school climate on the child, including the school’s safety
The availability and quality of services to meet the comprehensive needs of the child
Travel time to and from school

20. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
Does the McKinney-Vento Act require an LEA to provide transportation services to homeless children attending preschool? Yes. This provision requires transportation to the school of origin, which now includes preschools. This is required even if the LEA does not provide transportation to other children. EXAMPLE: Sally goes to preschool in District A. She becomes homeless and is doubled-up in District B. Sally wants to continue in her preschool classroom in District A. Even though District A does not provide transportation for any of their students, they MUST provide transportation for Sally to return to District A’s preschool classroom.

21. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
What are an LEA’s responsibilities regarding credit accrual and transfer when a homeless child or youth changes schools?
LEAs must have clear procedures in place to ensure that homeless students receive appropriate credit for full or partial coursework satisfactorily completed while attending a prior school.
LEAs should use creative strategies to ensure credit accrual and recovery for homeless students.

22. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
What is the district’s responsibility regarding extracurricular activities?
Districts must implement procedures to ensure that students who meet the relevant eligibility criteria do not face barriers to accessing academic and extracurricular activities, including after-school and summer programs.
Outstanding fees and fines must not present barriers to these students.
Districts should anticipate and accommodate the participation of homeless students and consider giving priority status on waitlists for these activities.

23. ESSA Guidelines Q&A
How can school district liaisons ensure that all of these provisions actually happen?
School districts should immediately and consistently review and revise policies that may act as a barrier for homeless students.
If your district has existing policies that conflict with these requirements, the district must revise these policies to align with the ESSA changes, effective October 1.

24. Scenario #1
It is November 14, Brittany attends Vento school district’s preschool program. She and her mother were evicted from their apartment last week. With no family shelter in the community, Brittany and her mother are staying with an ex-boyfriend in a neighboring school district. The new district does not have a preschool program.

25. Scenario #2
It is November 14, Sam is a 17-year old senior at McKinney High School. He is staying temporarily with friends in the district and enrolled in McKinney on the first day of school as an unaccompanied youth. Sam missed a lot of school last year, and he is behind on credits. But he has been working hard so far at McKinney, showing a strong focus to graduate and attend college. If he sticks with it, and with some partial credits from last year, he will be able to graduate in May. Sam has made friends and bonded with his school counselor. Sam’s father came to McKinney yesterday to meet with you. He wants Sam to return to his school of origin, which is just a few blocks away from the father’s house. He also wants Sam to return to his home as soon as possible. He said the school of origin is better for Sam because it is close to his home and has a strong credit recovery program, and Sam’s only been at McKinney for a few weeks. Regardless, he is demanding that you withdraw Sam from McKinney so he can enroll him back in his neighborhood.

26. DATA ECYEH Data Site: https://egd.aiu3.net/ecyeh/
If you do not remember or do not have a password, use the ‘forgot password’ option and follow the prompts and your password will be sent to you. You may be prompted to change your password once you access the system.
If you updated any children and youth who continued to experience homelessness as of July 1, 2016 during the transition window (July 1-August 31) they have remained in the system, all other children and youth have been removed for the year. If you discover they continued to be homeless as of July 1 or after, you can add them back into the system.
We are conducting regional training sessions on using the system. You will be receiving information to access your regional training. The training will be recorded if you cannot attend and will be sent to liaisons via .
There are user resources under the HELP tab.
For assistance, please use the or contact your local ECYEH office.

27. Awareness Week: Join Us
To garner advocacy and raise awareness for youth experiencing homelessness, we’ll be holding Awareness Week November 14th-18th. 
Planned activities include:
Hashtag campaign #IWillBeYourVoice: entails how we as educators, agencies, shelters, and community members will stand and be the voice of the students experiencing homelessness.
Red shirt day on Friday the 18th
You can plan events around the hashtag, we hope you do! If you have a journalism class that does podcasts or writing, we encourage the topic. This could be done prior to the week as a promo. Video and photos are encouraged for the hashtag campaign as well.
If you have any Awareness Week suggestion, we’d love to hear them!

28. Resources
Education for Homeless Children and Youth: Non-Regulatory Guidance
Ensuring the Educational Stability for Children in Foster Care: Non- Regulatory Guidance
Best Practices in ESSA Implementation: (Designating the Homeless Liaison, Preschool Transportation, Credit Recovery and more)
Fact Sheet and Tips from NAEHCY
ECYEH Data Website

29. FINAL SLIDE WITH BCIU LOGO – OPTIONAL THANK YOU.