Imagine a fourth-grade student that does not have a consistent home. The food the school provides at breakfast and lunch is the only ration of food they receive for the day. Snow days are agonizing not knowing if they will have food for that day and hoping to return to school only to eat. Students are beginning to notice that they wear the same two shirts and pants to school every day, and exclusion from groups of friends is evident. Teachers send the student habitually to the nurse to get cleaned up each morning, not realizing that the student is missing morning activities and lessons causing them to fall academically behind. At the end of every day, they look lost and not sure what bus to take because they are often staying with different family friends, local shelters and hotels, at times it is easier not to go to school than to feel abandoned and lost. During the 2013-2014 school year, public schools identified 1.3 million homeless students, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Act.
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Since 2007 there has been 100% increase of identified students and a 7% increase nationally over the previous year (National Center for Homeless Youth (NCHY), 2016). Currently, 30% percent of the national homeless populations are children and youth (NCHY, 2016). “Blue collar, “middle income” jobs (annual income $32,000-$53,000) are at a net loss of over 900,000 since before the recession. On the other hand, low wage jobs have increased. High wage jobs requiring at least a college degree also have risen” (National Employment Law Project, 2016). Students that are homeless have “Higher incidences of acute and chronic illnesses, depression and anxiety,” are “associated with poor classroom engagement and poor social skills,” and “87% more likely to drop out of school (NCHY, 2016). According to the National Coalition of Homeless Youth (2016), “75% of homeless or runaway youth have dropped out or will drop out of school.” McKinney-Vento Act Congress passed the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program (EHCY) as Title VII, Subtitle B of The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney Act) in 1987, to protect the rights of homeless youth and children. The act was amended in 2002 within No Child Left Behind to include unaccompanied youth and most recently, reauthorized in 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The foundation of McKinney-Vento is to remove barriers to enrollment in schools, now as defined by ESSA, pre-school through graduation from high school (Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015). McKinney-Vento students are a protected class under the Fourteenth Amendment “affords homeless children the same protection as alien children and all children of every race, color, or nationality” and should be “enroll in and have full and equal opportunity to succeed in school” ((NCHY, 2016). Every public school that is a recipient of federal funds must have a recognized Homeless Liaison that identifies children and youth in homeless situations in a timely manner, through outreach and coordination with other entities and agencies. In addition to identification, school districts must provide transportation to the student’s school of origin or school of attendance. As defined in ESSA (2015), districts must also ensure: • Children, youth, and families have access to and receive educational services for which they are eligible, including Head Start, early intervention (IDEA Part C) and other preschool programs. • Children, youth, and families receive referrals to health care, dental, mental health, substance abuse, housing and other services. McKinney-Vento students are entitled to immediate enrollment in any public school that students living in the same attendance area are eligible to attend; even if: • Students do not have required documents, such as school records, records of immunization and other required health records, proof of residency, guardianship, or other documents; or • Students have missed application or enrollment deadlines during any period of homelessness. 11432(g)(3)(C)(i) Legal Findings The District of Columbia District Court applied the foundation of the Brown v Board of Education (1954) to Lampkin v. District of Columbia, hearing in 1995. Education is the "very foundation of good citizenship.... [I]t is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values ... and in helping him to adjust normally to
Since 2007 there has been 100% increase of identified students and a 7% increase nationally over the previous year (National Center for Homeless Youth (NCHY), 2016). Currently, 30% percent of the national homeless populations are children and youth (NCHY, 2016). “Blue collar, “middle income” jobs (annual income $32,000-$53,000) are at a net loss of over 900,000 since before the recession. On the other hand, low wage jobs have increased. High wage jobs requiring at least a college degree also have risen” (National Employment Law Project, 2016). Students that are homeless have “Higher incidences of acute and chronic illnesses, depression and anxiety,” are “associated with poor classroom engagement and poor social skills,” and “87% more likely to drop out of school (NCHY, 2016). According to the National Coalition of Homeless Youth (2016), “75% of homeless or runaway youth have dropped out or will drop out of school.” McKinney-Vento Act Congress passed the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program (EHCY) as Title VII, Subtitle B of The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney Act) in 1987, to protect the rights of homeless youth and children. The act was amended in 2002 within No Child Left Behind to include unaccompanied youth and most recently, reauthorized in 2015 by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The foundation of McKinney-Vento is to remove barriers to enrollment in schools, now as defined by ESSA, pre-school through graduation from high school (Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015). McKinney-Vento students are a protected class under the Fourteenth Amendment “affords homeless children the same protection as alien children and all children of every race, color, or nationality” and should be “enroll in and have full and equal opportunity to succeed in school” ((NCHY, 2016). Every public school that is a recipient of federal funds must have a recognized Homeless Liaison that identifies children and youth in homeless situations in a timely manner, through outreach and coordination with other entities and agencies. In addition to identification, school districts must provide transportation to the student’s school of origin or school of attendance. As defined in ESSA (2015), districts must also ensure: • Children, youth, and families have access to and receive educational services for which they are eligible, including Head Start, early intervention (IDEA Part C) and other preschool programs. • Children, youth, and families receive referrals to health care, dental, mental health, substance abuse, housing and other services. McKinney-Vento students are entitled to immediate enrollment in any public school that students living in the same attendance area are eligible to attend; even if: • Students do not have required documents, such as school records, records of immunization and other required health records, proof of residency, guardianship, or other documents; or • Students have missed application or enrollment deadlines during any period of homelessness. 11432(g)(3)(C)(i) Legal Findings The District of Columbia District Court applied the foundation of the Brown v Board of Education (1954) to Lampkin v. District of Columbia, hearing in 1995. Education is the "very foundation of good citizenship.... [I]t is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values ... and in helping him to adjust normally to