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McKinney-Vento – Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth (TEHCY) Program
The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless as children lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate residence. If any one of the three conditions is missing, the child is considered homeless.
- Fixed: Stationary, permanent, not subject to change
- Regular: Used on a regular (nightly) basis
- Adequate: Sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in home environments
House Bill 4545 Implementation Overview
House Bill 4545 recently passed in the 87th Regular Legislative Session. The new statute is effective, as of June 16, 2021, with accelerated instruction practices required during the 2021-2022 school year for all students.
General Information:
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McKINNEY VENTO PROTECTION
WHAT TO DO IF YOU QUALIFY FOR McKINNEY-VENTO PROTECTION:
If you qualify for protection under the McKinney-Vento Act, you have access to certain rights and protections. There are several steps you can take to ensure that you are accessing all the benefits your community may offer.- Know Your Rights
The McKinney-Vento Act grants legal protections so that children and youth (ages 5-21 years) may enroll in, attend, and have the opportunities to succeed in school. Read the following fact sheets provided by THEO to learn more about your rights and techniques for dealing with your children in a crisis situation.
The Educational Rights of Students in Homeless Situations: What Service Providers Should Know - Meet Your Liaison
By law, every school district and charter school must designate a homeless liaison that can educate and advocate for homeless students. Liaisons’ duties include helping students without homes enroll in school or pre-school, assisting to arrange transportation to school, and mediating disputes.
Find your school district's McKinney-Vento liaison by selecting the link below:
Region One ESC McKinney-Vento Liaisons Directory
UNDERSTANDING YOUR ROLE AS A McKINNEY-VENTO LIAISON:
“Homeless Liaison” may be in your job description – but do you know what it means? By law, every local education agency (school district or charter school) must appoint a staff member to act as a liaison for students in homeless situations. Often this person holds one or more other job titles, including parent or school liaison, migrant or outreach coordinator, counselor, principal, federal programs director, or assistant superintendent.Liaisons are responsible for: Identifying students in homeless situations, enrolling these students in school, and giving them “full and equal opportunity to succeed”. This includes:
- Ensuring qualified students are also enrolled in other appropriate educational services such as Head Start or pre-school.
- Referring students to appropriate health services.
- Keeping parents and guardians informed as to their students’ options and rights.
- Publicly posting notice of educational rights.
- Mediating enrollment disputes.
- Informing about and assisting with transportation arrangements.
- Helping students obtain immunizations (where needed), and medical records.
- Informing unaccompanied youth (students without parents or guardians) about enrollment options and assist them in enrolling.
- Know Your Rights
Resources:
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Consent to Treatment of Child
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21-22 Financial Aid Requirements
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NAEHCY Award Nomination Form
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Homeless Liaison of the Year Award Information
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Other Resources
A Judicial Guide: Identifying and Serving Youth Experiencing Homelessness
Liaison Resource Guide - A compilation of some online resources organized by topic.
2-1-1 Texas - A free service which can refer you to appropriate social service agencies and provide their contact information. It is supported by the state’s Health and Human Service Commission's Texas Information and Referral Network. This service can be accessed via its web site (searchable by service type and location) or by phone (dial 2-1-1).
Texas Network of Youth Services
National Center for Homeless Education
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
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TEHCY
Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth (TEHCY)
Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth (TEHCY) Webpage - http://www.theotx.org/
TEHCY Resources - https://www.theotx.org/resources/
TEHCY Webinars - https://www.theotx.org/category/webinars/
TEHCY Trainings - https://www.theotx.org/category/trainings/
TEHCY COVID-19 Resources - https://www.theotx.org/covid-19/
TEHCY Technical Support Center - https://www.theotx.org/contact/
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Enrollment
Students who are experiencing homelessness are to be enrolled immediately. Districts cannot require students experiencing homelessness to provide proof of residency, immunizations, birth certificates guardianship documents, or any other sort of required paperwork before enrolling. Requiring missing paperwork or any other delay to enrollment is a violation of the McKinney-Vento Act.
Prompt and Proper Placement: Enrolling Students without Records
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Determination
Students who are experiencing homelessness have the right to attend school in their school of origin or in the school in the attendance area where the family or youth is currently residing. School of origin is defined as the school in which the child/youth was enrolled when they became homeless, or the school in which the child/youth was last enrolled. The campus a child attends is determined by which campus can serve the best interests of the child. In Texas, a student experiencing homelessness may enroll in any district they choose, regardless of the location of their residence, school of origin or attendance zone campus.
School Selection Provisions from the McKinney-Vento Act and the Texas Education Code
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Transportation
Students experiencing homelessness have the right to transportation to their school of origin. This provision applies even if a student moves outside of the school of origins’ attendance zone or district boundaries. School of origin transportation must continue for the duration of the child’s homelessness or until the end of the school year in which a child becomes permanently housed.
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Title 1
Students experiencing homelessness who are not on a Title-I campus are eligible to receive Title-I services.
These services are provided at the discretion of the LEA through existing Title-I programs or through the use of Title-I, Part A set-aside funds for students who are not on Title-I campuses. Students on Title-I campuses may receive additional supplemental services to the services being provided on their campus through the Title-I, Part A set-asides as well. Services may include: personal school supplies, items of clothing that are necessary to meet a school’s dress requirement, immunizations, supplemental counseling services, tutoring, costs associated with credit recovery, or other similar activities to address a child’s opportunity for school success
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Posters
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Jessica F. Viacobo M.Ed.
- School Health & Counseling Specialist
- Division of Administrative Leadership, School & Community Support
- jviacbo@esc1.net
- Phone: (956) 984-6015