1. Back to School 2016: Updates from Early Childhood Through Post-Secondary Education
Barbara Duffield,
Patricia Julianelle,
Cyekeia Lee,
September 7, 2016

2. NAEHCY
National membership association dedicated to educational excellence for children and youth experiencing homelessness, from early childhood through higher education.
Local Youth Task Forces, State Higher Ed Networks, Early Childhood Committee
Technical assistance on policy implementation.
Bringing your voices to Congress and state legislatures.
Youth leadership and support.

3. Overview New Head Start/Early Head Start Regulations
Every Student Succeeds Act/McKinney-Vento
Status of regulations/guidance
Brief review of major changes in the law
Implementation and training resources
Higher Education
October 1 FAFSA
Prior Prior Year Income
Home for the Holidays 2016

4. New Early/Head Start Regulations
The Head Start Act was reauthorized in 2007
Final regulations were published on September 6, 2016
Homelessness regulations described in this presentation go into effect on November 7, 2016
Link to full regulations:
/head-start-performance-standards
Link to summary of homelessness provisions:
news/final-head-start-rules

5. Head Start Regulations: Highlights (1)
Homeless children (as defined by the McKinney- Vento education subtitle definition) are categorically eligible for Head Start. No need to prove income.
Head Start program staff are allowed to confirm homelessness through many alternative means: a written statement from a homeless services provider, school personnel, or any other documentation that indicates homelessness, including documentation from a public or private agency, a declaration, information gathered on enrollment or application forms, or notes from an interview with staff (see NAEHCY summary for more details).

6. Head Start Regulations: Highlights (2)
Head Start programs must conduct community needs assessments at least once over their five-year grant period.
These needs assessments must use data that include children experiencing homelessness, in collaboration with, to the extent possible, McKinney-Vento local education agency liaisons.
Head Start programs must annually review and update the community assessment to reflect any significant changes, including rates of family and child homelessness.

7. Head Start Regulations: Highlights (3)
Head Start programs are allowed to reserve enrollment slots for children who experience homelessness/are in foster care. No more than 3 percent of a program’s funded enrollment slots may be reserved.
If the reserved enrollment slot is not filled within 30 days, the enrollment slot becomes vacant and then must be filled within 30 days.
This is a very important policy to help increase access for highly mobile children who confront wait lists.

8. Head Start Regulations: Highlights (4)
Head Start programs must develop and implement a recruitment process designed to actively inform all families with eligible children within the recruitment area of the availability of program services, and encourage and assist them in applying for admission to the program.
Programs must include specific efforts to actively locate and recruit homeless children and children in foster care.

9. Head Start Regulations: Highlights (5)
Head Start programs must make efforts to maintain the enrollment of homeless children, regardless of whether the family or child moves to a different service area, or transition the child to a program in a different service area, according to the family’s needs.
For families and children moving out of the community in which they are currently served, including homeless families and foster children, Head Start programs must undertake efforts to support effective transitions to other Early Head Start or Head Start programs.
If Early Head Start or Head Start is not available, the program should assist the family to identify another early childhood program that meets their needs.

10. Head Start Regulations: Highlights (6)
A program must comply with state immunization enrollment and attendance requirements, with the exception of homeless children.
Head Start programs must allow homeless children to attend for up to 90 days without immunization and other medical records, proof of residency, birth certificates, or other documents to give the family reasonable time to present these documents.

11. Head Start Regulations: Highlights (7)
Head Start policies and procedures cannot cannot require families to provide documents that confirm a child’s age, if doing so creates a barrier for the family to enroll the child.
Head Start programs must utilize community resources, where possible, to provide transportation, if a homeless child is unable to attend classes regularly because the family does not have transportation to and from the program facility.

12. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Effective Dates
Amends McKinney-Vento, Title I, and other programs of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
McKinney-Vento provisions take effect October 1,
“Awaiting foster care placement” is removed December 10, in AR, DE, and NV (2016 in all other states)
Title I foster care provisions take effect on December 10, 2016
Title I homeless provisions take effect for the school year.

13. US Department of Education (ED): Status of ESSA Guidance
ED has the authority to issue non-regulatory guidance on ESSA.
ED issued guidance on the McKinney-Vento amendments, and some Title I provisions, on July 27,
ED issued guidance on Title I foster care provisions on June 23, 2016.
Guidance does not have the force of law, but it indicates ED’s interpretation of the statute.

14. ESSA Amendments to the McKinney-Vento Act
State coordinator and local liaison capacity
Identification and outreach
Professional development and training
School stability: feeder schools, pre-school, and transportation
Credit accrual
Removing barriers caused by fees, fines, and absences
Transition to higher education
Early childhood access
Separation of homelessness and foster care provisions
Disaggregated achievement and graduation rates

15. McKinney-Vento Implementers: State Coordinators
Every state must designate a State Coordinator who can sufficiently carry out their duties.
State coordinators must:
Conduct monitoring of local educational agencies (LEAs) and ensure compliance.
Post on the SEA website, and annually update, a list of liaisons’ contact information and duties, and data on student homelessness.
Respond to inquiries from homeless parents and unaccompanied youth to ensure they receive the full protections of the law.

16. McKinney-Vento Implementers: Local Liaisons
Every LEA must designate a McKinney-Vento liaison able to carry out his/her legal duties (g)(6)
Liaisons must ensure that—
McKinney-Vento students enroll in and have full and equal opportunity to succeed in school.
McKinney-Vento students are identified by school personnel through outreach and coordination with other entities and agencies.
School personnel providing McKinney-Vento services receive professional development and other support.

17. School Stability
Each LEA shall, according to each child’s or youth’s best interest: (g)(3)(A)
Continue the student’s education in the school of origin for the duration of homelessness; OR
Enroll in any public school that housed students living where the student is living are eligible to attend.
School of origin is the school attended when permanently housed or school in which last enrolled, including a preschool and including the designated receiving school at the next grade level for feeder schools.
11432(g)(3)(I); Guidance N4

18. School Stability (cont.)
In determining best interest, the LEA shall:
Presume that keeping the student in the school of origin is in the student’s best interest (g)(3)(B)(i)-(ii)
Unless contrary to the request of the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth.
Consider student-centered factors, including the impact of mobility on achievement, education, health, and safety.
For preschoolers, attachment to teachers; availability and quality of services in the new area; travel time. (Guidance N3)
Give priority to the parent’s/guardian’s request.
Give priority to unaccompanied youth’s request.
Mention that this essentially brings USED guidance into the law. Point out specifically that “to the extent feasible” no longer is in the law. Point out priority to UY (used to be “consider the wishes”)

19. Transportation
1. LEAs must provide transportation to and from the school/preschool of origin, including until the end of the year when the student obtains permanent housing, at a parent’s or guardian’s request (or at the liaison’s request for unaccompanied youth) (g)(1)(J)(iii); Guidance J5
2. LEAs also must provide students in homeless situations with transportation services comparable to those provided to other students (g)(4)(A)
SEAs and LEAs must review and revise transportation policies that may act as barriers to identification, enrollment, attendance or success (g)(1)(I); Guidance J1

20. School Enrollment
When remaining in the school of origin is not in the student’s best interest or what the parent, guardian or youth requests: (g)(3)(C)(i)
McKinney-Vento students are entitled to immediate enrollment in any public school that students living in the same attendance area are eligible to attend; even if:
Students do not have required documents, such as school records, records of immunization and other required health records, proof of residency, guardianship, or other documents; or
Students have missed application or enrollment deadlines during any period of homelessness.

21. Enrollment (cont.)
“Enrollment” includes attending classes and participating fully in school activities a(1)
SEAs and LEAs must develop, review, and revise policies to remove barriers to the identification, enrollment and retention of children and youth in homeless situations, including barriers due to outstanding fees or fines, or absences (g)(1)(I)
“Broad, on-going requirement… with regular input from homeless parents, youth, and advocates so that new barriers… do not prevent” students from full, immediate enrollment and services. (Guidance A4)

22. Support for Academic Success: Full Participation
LEAs should anticipate and accommodate the needs of McKinney-Vento students to enter magnet school, summer school, career and technical education, advanced placement, online learning, and charter school programs and consider giving them priority on waitlists (g)(1)(F)(iii); Guidance I6
SEAs and LEAs should develop policies to expedite full participation in extracurricular activities and work with athletic associations to adjust policies to facilitate participation. (Guidance p. 25)

23. Support for Academic Success: Credit Accrual and School Climate
LEAs must have procedures to ensure McKinney-Vento students receive appropriate full or partial credit, such as: consulting with prior school about partial coursework completed; evaluating students’ mastery of partly completed courses; offering credit recovery (g)(1)(F)(ii); 11432(g)(6)(A)(x); Guidance O2
SEAs and LEAs should ensure school personnel consider issues related to homelessness prior to taking disciplinary action. (Guidance p. 33)
SEAs and LEAs should provide training on the traumatic impacts of homelessness and how to provide trauma- informed support. (Guidance p. 34)

24. Support for Academic Success: Transitioning to Higher Education (1)
All McKinney-Vento youth must be able to receive individualized counseling from counselors to prepare and improve their readiness for college, including college selection, application, financial aid, and on- campus supports (g)(1)(K); Guidance Q1
Liaisons must ensure unaccompanied youth are informed of their FAFSA status as independent students and obtain verification of that status.
11432(g)(6)(A)(x)(III); Guidance Q2

25. Support for Academic Success: Transitioning to Higher Education (2)
A local liaison may continue to make a determination of a youth’s status as either unaccompanied and homeless, or as self-supporting and at risk of being homeless, for as long as the liaison has access to the information necessary to make such a determination for a particular youth Guidance, Q-2.
If a liaison does not have the information that is necessary to make the determination, either because the youth become homeless after high school, or because the liaison is no longer familiar with the youth’s circumstances, the financial aid administrator must make the determination.

26. Support for Success: Title IA
Amendments take effect school year.
McKinney-Vento students attending any school in the LEA are automatically eligible for Title IA services USC 6315(c)(2)(E); Guidance M1
State report cards must disaggregate achievement and high school graduation data for McKinney-Vento students. 20 USC 6311(h)(1)(c)
All LEAs that receive Title IA funds must reserve (set aside) funds to provide homeless children services comparable to services provided in Title IA schools. 20 USC 6313(c)(3)

27. Title I Part A Amendments: Foster Care – the Short Version
Creates new Title I, Part A assurances that will provide ALL children in any stage of foster care proceedings with protections similar to McKinney-Vento (but not through MV).
LEAs are not required to provide school of origin transportation, if there are additional costs, unless they are reimbursed by the child welfare agency or agree to provide it.
Removes awaiting foster care placement from the McKinney-Vento Act one year after enactment (two years for AR, DE, NV).

28. ESSA Implementation Resources
Your NAEHCY One-Stop Shop:
Bill summaries, timelines, links to federal guidance
Sample Powerpoints (ESSA, Students with disabilities, affirming HUD homeless status)
Pop quizes, scenarios
Considerations for designating McKinney-Vento liaisons
Considerations for developing local transportation procedures for foster youth
Sample policies on partial credits, monitoring, and more
Coming soon! Frequently Asked Questions, sample LEA policy, sample SEA foster care dispute policy

29. Higher Education Update: New FAFSA Date
The FAFSA will become available on October 1, 2016 (old date was January 1).This change will allow students to:
Complete the FAFSA earlier in the academic year.
Receive financial aid award letters earlier in the academic year so they can compare award letters, and choose the best fit college.
Submit homeless status determinations before the school year ends.
Please work to identify returning and new homeless seniors as soon as possible to prevent financial aid delays.
Resources on new FAFSA release date available for students, parents, and counselors

30. Higher Education Update: Prior Prior Year Income
Beginning with the FAFSA released on October 1, 2016 student and parents will now need to include “Prior-Prior” tax information (Tax information from 2 years prior) when completing the FAFSA.
This will allow students to submit the FAFSA earlier using past tax information.
Dependent (accompanied) homeless youth should provide parental tax information from two years prior.
Independent (unaccompanied) homeless youth should only report their own tax information from two years prior.

31. NEW FAFSA Release Date and Prior-Prior Tax Year Example:

32. Higher Education Update: Training Resources and Tools
One-Stop Shop NAEHCY’s Higher Education Webpage
Tools for making homeless status determinations
U.S. Department of Education Dear Colleague Letter & Application and Verification Guide outlining colleges roles and responsibilities to makes homeless status determinations
FAFSA Completion Tips for Youth Without a Home
Past Higher Education webinars, and many more resources

33. Campaign with four other national organizations to raise awareness and inspire action
Action steps and best practices online
Online survey to find out what more campuses are doing to help youth during academic breaks

34. Questions? Type your question in the chat box to all
(not just the organizer) and click Send

35. By Civic Enterprises and Hart Research Associates

38. 2016 NAEHCY Conference Oct. 29-Nov. 1 K-12 ESSA Implementation
Early childhood
Higher education
Housing partnerships
Unaccompanied youth

39. Connect to #NAEHCYNation
Sign up for our e-newsletter –
Stay up-to-date with our legislative alerts and webinars
Like us on Facebook