Procedures for Identifying Homeless Students and Families

• Student residency questionnaire shall be included in all enrollment packets.
• Registrar and enrolling staff shall immediately refer homeless students and families to school 
  counselor.
• School counselor shall complete Homeless Worksheet with homeless families/guardians or unaccompanied youth to assess needs including school selection, transportation, academic needs, and other essential needs such as food, clothing, and shelter.
• School counselor shall ensure academic needs of homeless students or unaccompanied youth are met, including expediting screenings/testing, arranging for tutoring, etc.
• School counselor shall refer to Project HOPE Program Assistant.
• Program Assistant shall provide guidance to school registrars regarding enrollment coding, shall notify Department of food and Nutrition of homeless status, and if needed shall submit a transportation request to the Transportation Department.
• Transportation shall complete the homeless transportation request form and return to Program Assistant.
• Program Assistant shall determine feasibility of transportation and inform parents/guardians or unaccompanied youth and the Transportation Department of decision.

7 Important McKinney-Vento Terms to Know

• Homeless: The McKinney-Vento act states that children and youth who lack “a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” will be considered homeless. 42 U.S.C. §11434A (2)(A).
• Fixed: Securely placed or fastened; Not subject to change or fluctuation. (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition.) A fixed residence is one that is stationary, permanent, and not subject to change. (e.g., Arizona, Massachusetts and Michigan McKinney-Vento State Plans, 2002.)
• Regular: Normal, standard; Constituted, conducted, or done in conformity with established or prescribed usages, rules, or discipline; Recurring, attending , or functioning at fixed or uniformed intervals. (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition.) Consistent. (Ballentine's Law Dictionary, 3rd edition.) A regular residence is one which is used on a regular (i.e., nightly) basis. (e.g., Arizona, Massachusetts and Michigan McKinney-Vento State Plans, 2002.)
• Adequate: Sufficient for specific requirement; Lawfully and reasonable sufficient. (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Tenth edition.) Fully sufficient; Equal to what is required; Lawfully and reasonably sufficient. (Ballentine's law Dictionary, 3rd Edition.) An adequate 
  residence is one that is sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in home environments. (e.g. Arizona, Massachusetts and Michigan McKinney- Vento State Plans, 2002.) International law defines adequate as follows: “Adequate shelter means   adequate privacy, adequate space, adequate security, adequate lighting and ventilation, adequate basic infrastructure and adequate location with regard to work and basic facilities - all at a reasonable cost. ”International covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights, General Comment 4, paragraph 7 (1991), citing Commission on Human Shelter to the Year 2000.
• School of Origin: the school the student attended when permanently housed, or the school in which the student was lasted enrolled. 42 U.S.C. §11432(g)(3)(G).
• Immediate: without delay
• Unaccompanied Youth: Unaccompanied youth is defined as a youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. 42 U.S.C. 911434A(6). The act does not provide an age range.

What is the purpose of the McKinney-Yento Education for Homeless Children and Youth (McKinney-Vento) program?

• The McKinney-Vento program is designed to address the problems that homeless children and youth have faced in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school.
• Under this program, State educational agencies (SEAs) must ensure that each homeless child and youth has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as other children and youth.
• Homeless children and youth should have access to the educational and other services that they need to enable them to meet the same challenging State student academic achievement standards to which all students are held. In addition, homeless students may not be separated from the mainstream school environment.
• Slates and districts are required to review and undertake steps to revise laws, regulations, practices, or policies that may act as a barrier to the enrollment, attendance, or success in school of homeless children and youth.
• What is meant by the term “homeless children and youths”?

The McKinney-Vento Act defines “homeless children and youths” as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The term includes Children and youths who are:

• Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (sometimes referred to as “doubled-up”);
• Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
• Living in emergency or transitional shelters; or abandoned in hospitals;
• Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed 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 who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.
• Awaiting foster care placement; Children who are already in foster care, on the other hand, are not considered homeless.