JTASD Homeless Liaison: Tammy Lombardo-Schatz
ECYEH Memorandum Packet
McKinney-Vento Notification
Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act,
reauthorized by Title X, Part C, of the No Child Left Behind Act,
ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth
experiencing homelessness.
The McKinney-Vento Act states,
"local educational agencies will designate an appropriate staff person,
who may also be a coordinator for other federal programs, as a local
educational agency liaison for homeless children and youth." This
person has the following responsibilities:
- Identify
homeless children and youth with assistance by school personnel
and through coordination activities with other entities and agencies;
- Inform
parents or guardians of educational rights and related
opportunities available to their children and provide them with
meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their
children;
- Disseminate public notice of the educational rights of
homeless students where children and youth receive services under the
McKinney-Vento Act (such as schools, family shelters and food pantries);
- Mediate enrollment disputes in accordance with the Enrollment Dispute section;
- Inform
the parent or guardian of a homeless child, youth and any
unaccompanied youth, of all transportation options, including to the
school of origin, and assist in accessing these transportation services;
- Liaisons
are required to ensure that unaccompanied youth are
immediately enrolled in school pending resolution of disputes that might
arise over school enrollment or placement;
- Liaisons are
required to assist children and youth who do not have documentation of
immunizations or medical records to obtain necessary immunizations or
necessary medical documentation;
- Understand the guidance issued
by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) for the education of
homeless students and be ready to explain the Basic Education Circular
related to homeless education to school district staff;
- Get to
know the best resources in your community to assist families with
referrals for things such as shelter, counseling, food and
transportation;
- Distribute information on the subject of
homeless students and arrange staff development workshops and
presentations for school personnel, including office staff;
- Provide standard forms and information about enrollment procedures and key school programs to each shelter in your district;
- Become familiar with the various program materials that are available from PDE;
- Collaborate
with a school district's special education program to ensure that
homeless children who are in need of special education and
related services are located, identified and evaluated. This is a
requirement under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, which
mandates that highly mobile children with disabilities, including
homeless children, be identified and served. Liaisons should also ensure
that homeless youth who have or may have disabilities have a parent or a
surrogate parent to make special education or early
intervention decisions. In the case of unaccompanied homeless youth, if a
student is disabled or may be disabled and the youth does not have a
person authorized to make special education decisions, the following
people can be temporary surrogate parents: staff in emergency shelters;
transitional shelters; independent living programs; street outreach
programs; and state, local educational agency or child welfare agency
staff involved in the education or care of the child. This rule applies
only to unaccompanied homeless youth;
- Identify preschool-aged
homeless children by working closely with shelters and social service
agencies in their area. In addition, the liaison should inquire, at the
time they are enrolling homeless children and youth in school, whether
the family has preschool-aged children;
- Identify unaccompanied
homeless youth while respecting their privacy and dignity by providing
specific outreach to areas where eligible students who are out of school
may congregate. Appropriate school placement arrangements, based on the
child's best interest, should be implemented through the cooperative
efforts of the respective chief school administrators. Each case
presents a unique set of circumstances and, therefore, requires an
individualized response. In all cases, the LEA shall comply, to the
extent feasible, with the request made by a parent or guardian regarding
school selection, shall attempt to minimize disruptions, and shall
maintain the highest possible degree of continuity in programs for all
homeless students.
Homeless Information Resources