The Catskill Chronicle

Story by Ted Waddell

SULLIVAN COUNTY – If you’re homeless or living in temporary housing, your kids have a right to free and appropriate public education. No if’s, no buts, no ands about it…federal law as authorized by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1986 (Public Law 100-77) was the first significant federal legislative response to homelessness in the nation, and was passed and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 22, 1987.

Since the original act was passed to provide federal funding for shelter programs, it has been amended several times, most notably in 2002, as reauthorized as Title X, Part C of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act in January 2002, as the primary piece of federal legislation dealing with the education of homeless children and youth in America’s public school systems.

The conditional funding act stipulates that if states accept the federal grants, they are bound by the terms of the act, and in the case of children defined as “homeless,” are mandated to provide school-age children up to 21-years of age living in temporary housing with equal access to education in such areas as school selection, dispute resolution, enrollment, transportation, school liaisons and the prohibition of segregation.

A Closer Look at McKinney- Vento

When it was originally passed in 1987, the McKinney-Vento Act was designed with 15 programs to provide a broad range of services to the homeless in the land of plenty, and included the Continuum of Care Programs, the Supportive Housing Program, the Shelter Plus Care Program, and the Single Room Occupancy Program, in addition to the Emergency Shelter Grant Program.

It also established the Interagency Council on the Homeless, later known as the Interagency Council on Homelessness.

After receiving reports that up half of all homeless children were not attending school, Congress established the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act with the goal of ensuring the enrollment, attendance, and academic success of homeless children and youths.

As published in the United States Code (USC), Title 42, Chapter 119,
Subchapter I # 11301 (laws in effect as of 1-6-1999), Congress found that
“the nation faces an immediate and unprecedented crisis due to the lack of shelter for a growing number of individuals and families, including elderly persons, handicapped persons, families with children, Native Americans and veterans; the problem of homelessness has become more severe and, in the absence of more effective efforts, is expected to become dramatically worse, endangering the lives and safety of the homeless …,” going on to note “the causes of homelessness are many and complex …”

Under McKinney-Vento, children defined as “homeless” are entitled to numerous protections, as the act defines homeless children as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.”

According to the National Center for Homeless Education, the definition of homeless children and youth includes the following: * children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to
loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in
motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of
alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or
transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster
care placement

• Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designated for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
• Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings.
• Migratory children (as such term is defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965) who qualify as homeless… and are staying in housing not fit for habitation.

According to A. Laudan and M. Burt in their book “America’s Homeless II: Populations and Services” published in 2000 by the Urban Institute, over 1.35 million children experience homelessness each year.

The National Center on Family Homelessness, in a report titled “America’s Youngest Outcasts”, reported that as of the 2005-2006 school year, they counted 1.5 million homeless kids in the nation, about 200,000 more than the figure it counted a decade before.

Requirements for Schools Under McKinney-Vento

The McKinney-Vento Act provides certain rights for homeless children, which include waiving some requirements such as proof of residency when students are enrolling, and allowing categorical eligibility for specified services, such as free textbooks.

The act states that homeless children may attend their school of origin or the school district in which they are temporarily living; must be provided a written statement of their rights when they enroll and at least twice annually; may enroll without school, medical and/or similar records; have a right to transportation to school; must be provided a statement explaining why they are denied any service or enrollment; must receive services, such as transportation, while disputes are settled….

Continuing…students are automatically eligible for Title I services; school districts must reserve a portion of Title IA funds to serve homeless students; school districts must review and revise policies that create barriers to homeless students; schools must post information in the community regarding the rights of homeless students, in schools and other places that homeless families frequent; school districts must indentify a McKinney-Vento liaison to assist students.

Sullivan County Central School District McKinney-Vento Liaisons

• Eldred – Robert M. Dufour – 845-858-2694 -  rdufour@eldredschools.org
• Fallsburg – Candace L. Bennis – 845-434-6800 x 1274 –cbennis@fallsburgcsd.net
• Liberty – Eileen Conway-Whitaker – 845-292-5400 x 5112 –WhitakerEli@libertyk12,org
• Livingston Manor – Roberta Rehwaldt – 845-439-4400 x 1216 –rrehwaldt@lmcs.k12,ny.us
• Monticello – Dr. Edward Escobar – 845-794-0128 x 78910 – escobar@k12mcsd.net
• Roscoe – Kelly Hendrickson – 607-498-4126 x 202 –khendrickson@roscoe.k12.ny.us
• Sullivan West – Joanne Lane – 845-482-4610 x 3011 – lanejoa@swcsd.org
• Tri-Valley – Donna Flynn-Brown – 845-985-2296 x 5308 -  dflynn@tvcs.k12.ny.us

Regional & State McKinney-Vento Liaisons/Contacts

• Sulivan County BOCES – Kathy Meckle – 845-794-4405 x 310 – kmeckle@scboces.org
• The New York State Technical and Educational Assistance Center for
  Homeless Students (NYS-TEACH) 1-800-388-2014 – info@advocatesforchildren.org and www,nysteachs.org
• New York State Education Department: Program Manager for the Homeless, Pat McGuirk – 518-473-1236 – pmcguirk@mail.nysed.gov
  www.emsc.nysed.gov/nyc/homeless
• State Title I Director Roberto Reyes – 518-473-0295 – rreyes@mail.nysed.gov

A Word to Homeless Youth in Search of an Education

According to the New York State Technical & Education Assistance Center for Homeless Students (NYS-TEACHS), you have specific rights under McKinney-Vento (the short list includes) –

• Youth living in temporary housing and not with their parents or legal guardians (known as unaccompanied youth) can enroll themselves in school.
• Students have several options when it comes to the school of choice: the school they attended when they had permanent housing (known as the school of origin), the last school they went to (also called the school of origin), or the school located in the attendance area where they are temporarily living (known as the local school).
• A school cannot require a student in temporary housing to show proof of residence to register for school. If a student says they are homeless, they must be enrolled immediately even if they don’t have documentation normally associated with school registration, such a proof of residence, immunization records, a birth certificate, guardianship records, or school records.
• Students can get free meals without filling out an application.
• Students can participate in any school activity that is available to other students and get transportation to and from all before or after-school activities if it is provided to other students.
• Students can get special education services if the student has a current Individualized Education Plan (IEP), even if the IEP itself is not available or it is from another district.
• Students are entitled to free transportation to the school of origin even it is located in another district.
• Students get free transportation to the local school if transportation is provided to other students.