Serving Homeless Children and Youth with Disabilities

Presented by Diana Bowman and Christina Dukes

National Center for Homeless EducationThe U.S. Department of Education’s Technical Assistance Center for the

Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program

October 8, 2015

Today’s Webinar

• Homeless children and youth: Prevalence, challenges, and supports under the McKinney-Vento Act

• Homeless children and youth: Services and supports under IDEA

• Serving unaccompanied homeless youth and young children under IDEA

• Strategies for collaboration

• Additional resources

Child and Youth Homelessness:Prevalence and Challenges

• U.S public schools enrolled over 1.3 million homeless children and youth during the 2013-2014 school year, including 220,000 children and youth with disabilities

Source: http://eddataexpress.ed.gov

• Homeless children, as compared to other children:– are four times as likely to show delayed development– are twice as likely to repeat a grade in school, to be

expelled or suspended, to drop out of high school, and to have a learning disability

Source: www.familyhomelessness.org/media/135.pdf

Child and Youth Homelessness:Prevalence and Challenges

• Poverty, leading to unmet basic needs

• Higher rates of acute and chronic health problems

• Higher rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues

• Decreased access to medical, dental, and mental health care services

• Increased rates of trauma and exposure to violence

• Lack of a caring, responsible, steady adult (unaccompanied homeless youth)

Source: www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/112_Homeless_Children_and_Youth.pdf

Challenges for Homeless Children with Disabilities

• Difficulty of identification and discontinuity of education due to mobility

• Lack of program continuity in early intervention or educational settings

• Lack of timely assessment, diagnosis, and service provision

• Lack of timely records transfer when enrolling in a new program or school

McKinney-Vento Services and Supports

• The McKinney-Vento Act, 42 USC §11431-42 USC §11435, www.serve.org/nche/legis/mv.php

• Immediate school enrollment and full school participation, even when lacking records

• School selection (local school or school of origin, depending on the child’s best interest)

• School-of-origin transportation, if requested

McKinney-Vento Services and Supports

• Access to educational programs for which they are eligible (Title IA, IDEA, ELL, migrant education, vocational/technical education, gifted and talented, etc.)

• Free school meals (USDA’s Child Nutrition Program)

• Comparable services

• State Coordinator for Homeless Education in every state; oversees McKinney-Vento implementation within the state– Mandatory inclusion in Part B State Advisory Panels

and Part C State Interagency Coordinating Council

• Local homeless education liaison in every school district; oversees McKinney-Vento implementation within the district

McKinney-Vento Services and Supports

Identification

• The Child Find provisions include a requirement that states ensure that homeless children with disabilities are identified, located, and evaluated.

High Mobility

• LEAs must ensure that assessments of children who change LEAs during the school year are coordinated with prior schools expeditiously to ensure prompt completion.– Part B: If evaluation is pending, standard time frame

(within 60 days or timeframe established by the state) does not apply, but only if the new LEA is making sufficient progress toward completion, and parents and LEA agree on time frame for completion.

High Mobility

• Part B: When children with current IEPs change LEAs within the same state during the school year, the new LEA must provide children with FAPE immediately, including services comparable to those described in the IEP, in consultation with the parents.– LEA can adopt the current IEP or develop and

implement a new IEP.

High Mobility

• Part B: When children with current IEPs change LEAs and cross state lines during the school year, the new LEA must provide children with FAPE, including services comparable to those provided to those described in IEP, in consultation with the parents, until a new evaluation is conducted and a new IEP is developed, if appropriate.

• Enrolling schools must promptly obtain records from the previous school and parental consent; schools must promptly respond.

Response to Intervention

• As part of the criteria for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, school districts may use a Response to Intervention (RTI) process.

• However, once parental consent has been obtained for initial evaluation to determine if the child needs special education and related services, the LEA may not delay completion of the evaluation because the RTI process is pending.

RTI and Assessments

• If a child transfers to a new school district during the same school year before the previous school district has completed the child’s evaluation, the new school district may not delay the evaluation or extend the evaluation time frame in order to implement RTI. (Dear Colleague Letter – July 19, 2013)

IDEA Definition of Parent

1. A natural or adoptive parent of a child;

2. A guardian but not the State if the child is a ward of the State;

3. A person acting in the place of a parent (such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally responsible for the child's welfare); or

4. A surrogate parent who has been appointed in accordance with § 300.515.

Foster Parents

Unless State law prohibits a foster parent from acting as a parent, a State may allow a foster parent to act as a parent if—1. The natural parents’ authority to make educational

decisions on the child's behalf has been extinguished under State law; and

2. The foster parent—i. Has an ongoing, long-term parental relationship with the child;

ii. Is willing to make the educational decisions required of parents under the Act; and

iii. Has no interest that would conflict with the interests of the child.

Surrogate Parents

• School districts and and Early Intervention Programs (EIPs) must appoint a surrogate parent within 30 days.

• The surrogate parent– Can not be an employee of the SEA, the LEA, or any

agency involved in the education or care of the child;

– Can not have any personal or professional interest that conflicts with the interest of the child; and

– Must have the knowledge and skills needed to ensure adequate representation of the child..

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Temporary Surrogate Parents

• Until a surrogate parent is appointed, a temporary surrogate parent may be appointed for unaccompanied homeless youth.

• Appropriate staff of emergency shelters, transitional shelters, independent living programs, and street outreach programs may be appointed as temporary surrogate parents.

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Infants and Toddlers, Part C• States must make appropriate early intervention

services available to infants and toddlers with disabilities, including those who are homeless.

• States must establish a procedure for the referral of at-risk infants and toddlers by primary referral sources, including homeless family shelters and domestic violence shelters and agencies.

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Infants and Toddlers, Part C

• The State must ensure traditionally underserved groups, including minority, low-income, and homeless families, are meaningfully involved in the planning and implementation of the Part C program.

• Reminder: Required State Coordinator for Homeless Education representation on the Part C State Interagency Coordinating Council

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Suggestions for IDEA/McKinney-Vento Coordination

• Review data on homeless students with disabilities with the MV State Coordinator or LEA homeless liaison; discuss challenges and gaps in services and ways to address.

• Have a standing agenda item for homeless children and youth with disabilities on the advisory council and interagency coordinating committee.

Suggestions for IDEA/McKinney-Vento Coordination

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• Present at each other’s trainings on an annual basis.

• Invite the local liaison to attend IEP/IFSP meetings of homeless children and youth.

• Discuss challenges related to individual students who are homeless and have disabilities and determine how both programs can coordinate services most efficiently.

• Identify policies or practices that should be changed.

Making Contact

• Consult the State Coordinator contact list on the NCHE website at www.serve.org/nche/downloads/sccontact.pdf

• Most SEA homeless education webpages have a directory of local liaisons– Visit NCHE state profile pages that include links to

local liaison directories at www.serve.org/nche/states/state_resources.php.

– Contact the NCHE helpline at 800-308-2145 or homeless@serve.org.

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NCHE Resources

• Website: www.serve.org/nche • Helpline: 800-308-2145 or homeless@serve.org • Issue Briefs, www.serve.org/nche/briefs.php

– Supporting Homeless Children and Youth with Disabilities: Legislative Provisions in MV and IDEA

– Navigating the Intersections of MV and IDEA: Coordination to Help Homeless Children with Disabilities

– School Help for Homeless Children with Disabilities: Information for Parents

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OSERS Resources

• Questions and Answers on Special Education and Homelessness, www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/spec-ed-homelessness-q-a.pdf

• Dear Colleague Letter - July 19, 2013, www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/12-0392dclhighlymobile.pdf

• Dear Colleague Letter - August 5, 2013. www.serve.org/nche/downloads/osers-colleague-ltr-aug-2013.pdf

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Presenter Contact Information

• Diana Bowman, dbowman@serve.org

• Christina Dukes, cdukes@serve.org

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