Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH)

Pennsylvania’s Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness Program was established to ensure homeless youth have access to a free and appropriate public education while removing barriers that homeless children face on a daily basis. Its goal is to have the educational process continue as uninterrupted as possible while the children are in homeless situations.

Definition of Homelessness
Section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Act defines “homelessness children and youths) as individuals lacking a fixed, regular, adequate nighttime residence. Furthermore, this includes,

• Children and youths who are:

o   Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing or economic hardship.
o   Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations.
o   Living in emergency, transitional, or domestic violence shelters.
o   Abandoned in hospitals.

• Children and youth whose primary nighttime residence is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations for human beings.
• Children and youth whose living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, transportation stations or similar settings.
• Children and youth living as migratory children in conditions described in previous examples.
• Children and youth who are living as run-away children.
• Children and youth who are abandoned or forced out of homes by parents/guardians or caretakers.
• Children and youth living as school-aged parents in houses for parents if they have no other living                              accommodations.

School of origin is defined as the school the student attended when permanently housed or the school in which the student was last enrolled, including pre-school. When the student completes the final grade level served by the school of origin, the school of origin shall include the designated receiving school at the next grade level for all feeder schools. Unaccompanied youth is defined as a homeless child or youth not in the physical custody of a 
parent or guardian.

Enrollment/Placement
To the extent feasible and, in accordance with the student’s best interest, a homeless student
shall continue to be enrolled in his or her school of origin while he or she remains homeless or
until the end of the academic year in which he or she obtains permanent housing.
Parents/Guardians of a homeless student may request enrollment in the school in the
attendance area where the student is actually living or other schools. If a student is
unaccompanied by a parent/guardian, the district liaison will assist the student with placement
and enrollment decisions and give priority to the views of the student in determining where he
or she will be enrolled.

If after such consideration, the district determines that it is not in the student’s best interest to
attend the school of origin or the school requested by the parent/guardian or unaccompanied
youth, the district shall provide the parent/guardian or unaccompanied youth with a written
explanation of the reasons for its determination. The explanation shall be in a manner and form
understandable to the parent/guardian or unaccompanied youth and shall include information
regarding the right to appeal.

The selected school shall immediately enroll the student and begin instruction, even if the
student is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment pursuant to district
policies. However, the district may require a parent/guardian to submit contact information. The district liaison may contact the previous school for oral confirmation of immunizations, and the school shall request records from the previous district, pursuant to Board policy. Homeless families are not required to prove residency regarding school enrollment.

School/Health Records
The receiving school district may contact the district of origin for oral confirmation that the
student has been immunized but must not be a barrier to enrollment. Oral confirmation
between professionals is a sufficient basis to verify immunization with written confirmation to
follow within thirty (30) days. The instructional program should begin without delay after the
enrollment process is initiated and should not be delayed until the procedure is completed.

The enrolling district’s liaison will assist the parent/guardian/student in obtaining necessary
immunizations, or immunization or medical records.

The district will support families with accessibility to health-related resources — not limited to
access to a physician, dentist, and other specialty doctors.

The district may assist with transportation for access to medical providers as well as assist with
overcoming barriers related to insurance.

Education Records
Information about a homeless student’s living situation shall be treated as a student education
record subject to the protections of the Family Educational Right and Privacy Act (FERPA) and
shall not be deemed to be directory information.

Homeless students shall be provided services comparable to those offered to other district students including, but not limited to: transportation services, school nutrition programs, vocational programs & technical education, preschool programs, programs for students with limited English proficiency, and educational services for which students meet eligibility criteria, such as programs for disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, and gifted & talented
students.

Placement/Disputes/Complaints
If the district is unable to determine the student’s grade level due to missing or incomplete
records, the district shall administer tests or utilize appropriate means to determine the
student’s placement.

If a dispute arises over school selection or enrollment, the student shall be immediately enrolled in the school in which enrollment is sought, pending resolution of the dispute. The parent/guardian/student will be provided with a written explanation of the school’s decision on the dispute, including the right to appeal. The parent/guardian/student will be referred to the school district liaison, who will carry out the state’s grievance procedure as expeditiously as possible after receiving notice of the dispute. In the case of an unaccompanied student, the school district liaison shall ensure that the student is immediately enrolled in school pending resolution of the dispute.

If disputes or complaints of noncompliance rise regarding the education of homeless students, the following steps shall be taken:

• The person filing the complaint shall first contact the school or district through the school district liaison, the principal, and/or Superintendent to present their concerns to the people closest to the situation and, most likely, to be able to resolve it quickly.
• If Step 1 is not successful or is not possible under the circumstances, contact should be made with the Homeless Project Education Liaison, or the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) will accept complaints directly through the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program. 
• Individual cases may be referred to the PDE’s Office of Chief Counsel and the Office of the Deputy Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, as needed, by the State Homeless Coordinator.

PDE will deliver a response within fifteen (15) business days of the receipt of the complaint. The complaint may arrive in the form of a copy of the school district letter or on the Dispute Letter Form, if given directly to a Liaison of the Homeless Initiative.

Transportation
The Mercer Area School District shall provide transportation for homeless students to their school of origin or the school they choose to attend within the school district.

If the school of origin is outside district boundaries or homeless students live in another district but will attend their school of origin in this district, the school districts shall agree upon a method to apportion the responsibility and costs of the transportation.

Mercer Area School District Transportation Coordinator:
Mr. Mark Roman       
724-662-5100 ex. 40              
mroman@mercer.k12.pa.us

Fiscal Responsibilities
The following guidelines will be followed in cases when the education of the student is provided by the district where the homeless student is temporarily living. The guidelines shall also apply in cases when the district of prior attendance, where that is not the district the student attended when permanently housed, will educate the student:

• Homeless individuals not in facilities (shelters) or institutions, as well as homeless individuals living in hotels, motels, cars, tents, or doubled-up with a resident family, shall be reported and reimbursed as resident student.
• For homeless individuals in temporary shelters, the educating school district will send a form for the determination of district residence for students in facilities or institutions to the presumed district of residence.
• If the form is acknowledged by the resident district, the educating district will enter the student on its rolls as a nonresident student from the acknowledging resident school district. The educating district will bill the resident district for tuition and will report membership data according to state child accounting procedures.
• If the form is disclaimed and a district of residence cannot be determined, the student will be considered a ward of the state. The educating district will enter the student on its rolls as a nonresident ward of the state and will report membership according to state child accounting procedures. The Department of Education will pay tuition to the educating district based on membership reported to child accounting.

In cases when the education of the student is provided by the district of origin, where that is the district, the student attended when permanently housed, the district will continue to educate a homeless student for the period of temporary displacement and should maintain the student on its rolls as a resident student.

In cases when the student becomes permanently housed during the academic year and continues in the school of origin, which is not the district of new residence, the educating district will continue to educate the formerly homeless student on its rolls as a nonresident student.

Training
Offered by the Coordinator of Pennsylvania’s Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness Program. The district’s liaison shall arrange professional development programs for school staff, including office staff. School personnel providing services to homeless students, including enrollment staff, shall receive professional development and support to:

• Improve identification of homeless students.
• Understand the rights of such children, including requirements for immediate enrollment and transportation, and
• Heighten the awareness of, and capacity to respond to, the educational needs of such children.

Free and Reduced Meals
All Mercer Area School District students receive free meals (breakfast and lunch) during the school year.

Family Engagement
Families are a valued member of our community and an essential part of a child’s success.
Opportunities for participation in school and building sponsored events are communicated in a 
variety of ways throughout the school year. If you need assistance to participate, please contact
your building principal, (INSERT BUILDING PRINCIPAL NAMES HERE).

Community Partnerships
The school district partners with community agencies to support families through collaboration. Some community partnerships include but are not limited to:
Mercer County Behavioral Health Commission
Mercer County Children and Youth Services
Mercer County Department of Human Services
Mercer Rotary
Mercer Area Chamber of Commerce
Mercer VFW Post #6345
American Legion Post 159

Academic Supports
Students have access to numerous academic supports. This assistance is based on the need of each individual student. Examples include but are not limited to:
Title I supports & services
Multi-tiered Intervention Supports
After School Tutoring
Credit Recovery
McKinney Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act:
https://www.education.pa.gov/K12/Homeless%2OEducation/mckinneyvento/Pages/default.aspx 

McKinney-Vento Liaison
If you believe that you and/or your family is currently in a situation similar to any outlined above, please contact Dr. Michael Piddington, Assistant Superintendent via phone (724-662-5100 ex. 27), email (mpiddington@mercer.k12.pa.us), or in person in the central office located in the back of the middle-high school building.

Liaison Responsibilities:
The school district’s liaison shall coordinate with:

• Local service agencies that provide services to homeless children, youth, and families.
• Other school districts on issues of records transfer and transportation.
• District staff responsible for the provision of services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and individuals with Disabilities Act.
• State and local housing agencies responsible for comprehensive housing affordability strategies.

The district’s liaison shall provide public notice of the educational rights of homeless students in
schools, family shelters, soup kitchens, public libraries, and locations frequented by
parents/guardians of homeless children.

The district liaison shall provide reliable, valid, and comprehensive data to the coordinator of Pennsylvania’s Education for Children/Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH) Program in accordance with federal and state law regulations.