The Mckinney-Vento Act
THE MCKINNEY-VENTO ACT AND EDUCATING CHILDREN EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS
INTRODUCTION
According to a recent study conducted by the National Center on Family Homelessness, there are approximately 1.5 million children in America that experience homelessness each year. Of these children 902,108 are school-aged and enrolled in school. Approximately seventy-eight percent of these enrolled children are in kindergarten through eighth grade, while the remaining twenty-two percent are in ninth through twelfth grade.[1] Homelessness presents a number of obstacles to academic success. Without legislation aimed at lessening the negative effects that homelessness can have on a student’s academic performance, academic success (or even regular …show more content…
They are entrusted with the responsibility of working not only with the school community but also the local general public in ensuring that child and youth in homeless situations are identified and assisted.[33] According to the 2006 Report to the President and Congress on the implementation of the EHCY Program under the Act, State Coordinators identify high turnover among local liaisons as one of their biggest challenges. As a result of this high turnover, state coordinators often have difficulty keeping an updated list of contacts and providing training for the new liaisons who are continually assuming the role.[34] Another major problem with the implementation of the Act is that many of the liaisons are responsible for several other programs and do not have a sufficient amount of time to devote to ensuring that all of the educational needs of children experiencing homelessness are met as required by the Act. …show more content…
Tennessee’s stated policy is to include “local assurances” in Federal Programs Local Consolidated Application and monitor for compliance during on-site reviews. Because regular transportation to school is so critical to the success of students experiencing homelessness, Tennessee should revise its state plan to include more concrete objectives regarding their transport. Furthermore, a definitive timeline and compliance monitoring regime should be established. Perhaps the district could create uniform transportation request forms that each school can submit whenever a parent, guardian, or liaison request transportation for a child experiencing homelessness. It is crucial for effective implementation of the Act that Tennessee identifies a clear policy concerning student transportation during inter-district disputes regarding the duty to transport. The primary goal of this policy should be to ensure that inter-district disputes do not result in a student missing school. In the event of such a dispute, Tennessee’s state plan should clearly specify which LEA should provide transportation while the dispute is being settled. The state policy should clearly state whether it is the responsibility of the LEA in which the school of origin is located or the LEA in which the child’s new school is located to transport the child until the dispute is settled by the State
INTRODUCTION
According to a recent study conducted by the National Center on Family Homelessness, there are approximately 1.5 million children in America that experience homelessness each year. Of these children 902,108 are school-aged and enrolled in school. Approximately seventy-eight percent of these enrolled children are in kindergarten through eighth grade, while the remaining twenty-two percent are in ninth through twelfth grade.[1] Homelessness presents a number of obstacles to academic success. Without legislation aimed at lessening the negative effects that homelessness can have on a student’s academic performance, academic success (or even regular …show more content…
They are entrusted with the responsibility of working not only with the school community but also the local general public in ensuring that child and youth in homeless situations are identified and assisted.[33] According to the 2006 Report to the President and Congress on the implementation of the EHCY Program under the Act, State Coordinators identify high turnover among local liaisons as one of their biggest challenges. As a result of this high turnover, state coordinators often have difficulty keeping an updated list of contacts and providing training for the new liaisons who are continually assuming the role.[34] Another major problem with the implementation of the Act is that many of the liaisons are responsible for several other programs and do not have a sufficient amount of time to devote to ensuring that all of the educational needs of children experiencing homelessness are met as required by the Act. …show more content…
Tennessee’s stated policy is to include “local assurances” in Federal Programs Local Consolidated Application and monitor for compliance during on-site reviews. Because regular transportation to school is so critical to the success of students experiencing homelessness, Tennessee should revise its state plan to include more concrete objectives regarding their transport. Furthermore, a definitive timeline and compliance monitoring regime should be established. Perhaps the district could create uniform transportation request forms that each school can submit whenever a parent, guardian, or liaison request transportation for a child experiencing homelessness. It is crucial for effective implementation of the Act that Tennessee identifies a clear policy concerning student transportation during inter-district disputes regarding the duty to transport. The primary goal of this policy should be to ensure that inter-district disputes do not result in a student missing school. In the event of such a dispute, Tennessee’s state plan should clearly specify which LEA should provide transportation while the dispute is being settled. The state policy should clearly state whether it is the responsibility of the LEA in which the school of origin is located or the LEA in which the child’s new school is located to transport the child until the dispute is settled by the State