Changing schools may greatly impede the academic achievement and social development of students experiencing homelessness. Research studies have demonstrated a link between high mobility due to homelessness and poor school performance (Cunningham, Harwood, & Hall, 2010; Obradovic, Long, Cutuli, Chan, Hinz, Heistad & Masten, 2009). Students…

The Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP)™ initiative, a nationwide project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, aims to improve education and employment outcomes for young people ages 15 to 25 who have been involved in the child welfare and justice systems or who are experiencing homelessness. Young people eligible for LEAP are likely to be…

Changing schools may greatly impede the academic achievement and social development of students experiencing homelessness. Students who transfer to a new school often experience educational discontinuity and, as a result, lose academic credits. Moreover, the mobility experienced by these students separates them from their social network and from…

Subtitle VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized in 2001 by Title X, Part C of the No Child Left Behind Act and referred to in this brief as the McKinney-Vento Act, guarantees rights and services to remove educational barriers for homeless children and youth. The law requires states and school districts to follow a dispute…

This report examines state and school district implementation of the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program, based on surveys of state EHCY coordinators and district homeless liaisons and analysis of extant data. The study included state and school district surveys to examine program implementation during the 2010-11 school year;…

This article describes the central elements of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and, drawing from Spillane's distributed leadership perspective, examines the policy's impact on the homeless education situation. Although the initial passing and subsequent revisions to McKinney-Vento are depicted as providing numerous benefits for students…

The United States has about 225,000 to 500,000 homeless children. In 1987, Congress passed a comprehensive law to provide emergency and long-term assistance for homeless persons. Under the Stewart B. McKinney Act, states receive funding to investigate homeless children's needs, identify education obstacles, and develop plans to overcome them. Tips…

The Stewart B. McKinney Act of 1987 was intended to remove barriers and ensure access to education for homeless children. But despite a 1988 consent decree, the United States Department of Education (DOE) has failed to comply with its statutory duties to implement the Act, the states have also failed to implement the Act adequately, and homeless…

A two-part survey prepared in compliance with the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act assessed the extent of homelessness among Missouri children and the types of educational barriers that they confront. The survey formed the basis for the federally required State Plan for educating homeless children. In this document, an explanation of…

This report contains the Oregon state plan for educating homeless children and youth required by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. Data on the number and location of homeless children and homeless youth in the state and the barriers they face in obtaining a free public education are discussed. Section 1 provides an overview…

This report contains the California state plan for educating homeless children and youth required by the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. The plan is designed to raise the level of awareness of schools and school districts to the needs of homeless children and to provide ideas and suggestions for meeting those needs. It is…

The Maine Department of Educational and Cultural Services (DECS) received funding under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 to develop a state plan for assuring access to a free and appropriate education for homeless children and youth. A second-year grant was to be made to DECS upon submission of a state plan to the U.S.…

This report reviews and analyzes programs to educate homeless children and youth. A look at the national perspective describes the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, its passage and content. The paper argues that the Department of Education, charged with implementing the Act, failed to do so. Delays, inadequate monitoring, and…

A study was done of homeless children and their access to education in District of Columbia Public Schools and of implementation of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act in that school district. A review of District of Columbia proposals for programing and for funding, interviews with school and city officials, and interviews with…

This report describes Oklahoma's response to requirements for the education of homeless children and youth of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. The report includes an introduction and an overview of Subtitle B of the McKinney Act and is divided into four sections. Section I, "Functions of the SDE Office," describes…