Homeless Info - ESSA

As of Saturday, October 1, 2016, the McKinney-Vento amendments enacted through the Every Student Succeeds Act are now in effect.

The education subtitle of the McKinney-Vento Act now includes, among other things, new or changed requirements focused on:

• Professional development and technical assistance at both the State and local levels, including a requirement to ensure that State Coordinators and local liaisons have sufficient capacity to carry out their duties as described in the law;
• Identification of homeless children and youths;
• Removing barriers to school enrollment and retention, including barriers related to missed application or enrollment deadlines, fines, or fees; records required for enrollment, including immunization or other required health records, proof of residency, or other documentation; or academic records, including documentation for credit transfer;
• School stability, including the expansion of school of origin to include public preschools and receiving schools and the provision of transportation until the end of the school year, even if a student becomes permanently housed;
• Preschool-aged homeless children, including clarification that local liaisons must ensure that these children and their families have access to and receive services, if eligible, under LEA-administered preschool programs;
• Homeless youths in secondary school, including the provision of supports to help these youth be college- and career-ready;
• Collaboration and coordination with other service providers, including public and private child welfare and social services agencies; law enforcement agencies; juvenile and family courts; agencies providing mental health services; domestic violence agencies; child care providers; runaway and homeless youth centers; providers of services and programs funded under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act; and providers of emergency, transitional, and permanent housing, including public housing agencies, shelter operators, and operators of transitional housing facilities
• Privacy of student records, including information about a homeless child or youth’s living situation; and
• The dispute resolution process.

In addition, ESSA removes "awaiting foster care placement" from the definition of "homeless children and youths", effective for most states on December 10, 2016 (the sole exception to the Oct 1, 2016, implementation date).

NCHE is ready to provide needed supports to the field for understanding and implementing the new statute. For more information, join NCHE in an upcoming ESSA webinar by visiting http://nche.ed.gov/web/group.php, or contact the NCHE helpline at 800.308.2145 or homeless@serve.org.