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Homeless Education Program

Title I, Part A Reservation Funds for Homeless Education

Homeless Education Overview

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (Subtitle B—Education for Homeless Children and Youth), reauthorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act, ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness. This overview explains the legislation and offers strategies for implementing it.

  • Homeless children are automatically eligible for Title I services, regardless of their current academic performance
  • Local educational agencies (LEAs) must reserve funds, as necessary, to provide comparable services to homeless students regardless of their school of attendance
  • Homeless students at non-Title I schools are entitled to academic support comparable to students attending Title I schools
  • Title I does not have a formal definition of comparable services
  • Only 15 percent of Title I funds can be carried over to the next year
  • Title I, Part A reservation funds for homeless education can be used to support homeless students

Definition of Homeless: The term homeless children and youth means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This definition also includes:

  • Children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason
  • Children who may be living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or shelters,
  • Children and youth 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 youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; or
  • Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are children who are living in similar circumstances listed above

Title I, Part A reservation funds for Homeless Education can be used for the following:

  • Items of clothing, particularly if necessary to meet a school’s dress or uniform requirement;
  • Clothing and shoes necessary to participate in physical education classes;

Title I, Part A Reservation Funds for Homeless Education

  • Caps and gowns to wear at graduation;
  • Student fees that are necessary to participate in the general education program, including class projects, and field trips;
  • Personal school supplies such as backpacks and notebooks;
  • Birth certificates necessary to enroll in school;
  • Immunizations;
  • Food;
  • Support the homeless liaison position;
  • Collect data on homeless children and youth;
  • Transportation to and from the school of origin;
  • Medical and dental services;
  • Eyeglasses and hearing aids;
  • Counseling services to address anxiety related to homelessness that is impeding learning;
  • Outreach services to students living in shelters, motels, and other temporary residences;
  • Extended learning time (before and after school, Saturday classes, summer school) to compensate for lack of quiet time for homework in shelters or other overcrowded living conditions;
  • Tutoring services, especially in shelters or other locations where homeless students live;
  • Parental involvement specifically oriented to reaching out to parents of homeless students;
  • Fees for Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) testing;
  • Fees for college entrance exams such as Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) or American College Testing (ACT); and
  • General Education Development (GED) testing for school-age students and their parents

LEA Requirements:

  • Requires LEAs to designate an appropriate staff person as a local educational agency liaison for students in homeless situations
  • Requires LEAs to immediately enroll students in homeless situations, even if they do not have required documents, such as school records, medical records, proof of residency, or other documents
  • Requires liaisons to ensure that homeless children and youth are identified; that they enroll in, and have full and equal opportunity to succeed in, the schools of the LEA; and that they and their families receive educational services for which they are eligible

Title I, Part A Reservation Funds for Homeless Education

  • Requires LEAs to keep homeless students in their schools of origin, to the extent feasible, unless it is against the parent or guardian’s wishes
  • Students are also permitted to remain in their school of origin for the duration of their homelessness, and until the end of any academic year in which they move into permanent housing
  • Requires LEAs to provide transportation to and from the school of origin, at the request of the parent or guardian, or, in the case of an unaccompanied youth, at the request of the district’s homeless liaison
  • Requires LEAs to develop, review, and revise their policies to remove barriers to the enrollment and retention of children and youth in homeless situations

Please contact Brian Lynch Director of Student Services Reed Union School District at blynch@reedschools.org or (415) 381-1112  Ext 4004.

Homeless Education Program Integrated Student Support and Programs

Office California Department of Education

Toll-free: 866-856-8214
Web site: www.cde.ca.gov/sp/hs