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Transportation of Homeless Students: Current Trends and Best Practices

Learn about the eligibility criteria, barriers to education, and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act for homeless students. Explore the data on homeless students in Florida and nationwide, and discover strategies for providing transportation and support to ensure educational continuity.

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Transportation of Homeless Students: Current Trends and Best Practices

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  1. Current Trends and Best Practices in theTransportation of Homeless Students Lorraine Husum Allen, Director Homeless Education Program, Florida Department of Education Florida Pupil Transportation Services Directors Meeting February 11, 2010 Tallahassee, Florida

  2. How Many Children and Youth Experience Homelessness? 10% of all children living in poverty over the course of a year 7% of all fifth graders have lived in a shelter or car (11% for low-income and African American) 1.6-1.7 million youth run away each year Over 40% of all children who are homeless are under the age of 5 Nationwide, 794,617 homeless students enrolled in public schools in the 2007-08 school year - 17% increase over previous year NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  3. As many as 41,286 Florida students were identified as homeless in our schools during 2008-2009. Source: 2008-2009 FINAL SURVEY 5 HOMELESS COUNTS AS OF 09-21-09

  4. Eligibility—Who is Covered? Children who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence— Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping grounds due to lack of adequate alternative accommodations Living in emergency or transitional shelters NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  5. Awaiting foster care placement Living in a public or private place not designed for humans to live Living in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings Migratory children living in above circumstances Eligibility—Who is Covered? (cont.) NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  6. 2008-2009 Florida DOE Data 41,286 homeless students were identified in Florida public schools. (20% increase from 2007-2008) 5,562 (13%)of those identified were “Unaccompanied Youth.” 27,539 (67%) were reported as sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason; doubled-up. (32% increase from 2007-2008) All (67) school districts reported at least one homeless student in their schools. NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  7. FLDOE Survey 5 2008-2009 Homeless Student Counts by Nighttime Residence and Unaccompanied Youth 9-21-09 LEGEND A Living in emergency or transitional shelters, FEMA trailers, abandoned in hospitals, awaiting foster care B Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason; doubled-up. D Living in cars, parks, temporary trailer parks or campgrounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings or similar settings. E Living in hotels or motels

  8. FLDOE Survey 5 2008-2009 Homeless Student Counts by Nighttime Residence and Unaccompanied Youth 9-21-09 LEGEND A Living in emergency or transitional shelters, FEMA trailers, abandoned in hospitals, awaiting foster care B Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason; doubled-up. D Living in cars, parks, temporary trailer parks or campgrounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings or similar settings. E Living in hotels or motels

  9. FLDOE Survey 5 2008-2009 Homeless Student Counts by Nighttime Residence and Unaccompanied Youth 9-21-09 LEGEND A Living in emergency or transitional shelters, FEMA trailers, abandoned in hospitals, awaiting foster care B Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason; doubled-up. D Living in cars, parks, temporary trailer parks or campgrounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings or similar settings. E Living in hotels or motels

  10. Barriers to Education forHomeless Children and Youth Enrollment requirements (school records, health records, proof of residence and guardianship) High mobility resulting in lack of school stability and educational continuity Lack of access to programs Lack of transportation Lack of school supplies, clothing, etc. Poor health, fatigue, hunger Prejudice and misunderstanding NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  11. McKinney-VentoHomeless Assistance Act Reauthorized 2002 by NCLB Main themes: School stability School access Support for academic success Child-centered, best interest decision making NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  12. Eligibility Case-by-case determination Get as much information as possible (without intimidating the parent or youth) Look at the MV definition (specific examples in the definition first, then overall definition) NCHE’s Determining Eligibility brief is available at http://www.serve.org/nche/downloads/briefs/det_elig.pdf Determining Eligibility NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  13. McKinney-Vento Personnel Every State Education Agency has an Office of State Coordinator for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth Collaboration responsibilities across agencies and with communities Technical assistance to LEAs Compliance Professional development Data collection and reporting NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  14. Local HomelessEducation Liaisons Every LEA must designate a liaison for students in homeless situations. Responsibilities- Ensure that children and youth in homeless situations are identified Ensure that homeless students enroll in and have full and equal opportunity to succeed in school Link with educational services, including preschool and health services Resolve disputes and assist with transportation NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  15. Research on School Mobility Students who switch schools frequently score lower on standardized tests; study found mobile students scored 20 points lower than non-mobile students. Mobility also hurts non-mobile students; study found average test scores for non-mobile students were significantly lower in high schools with high student mobility rates. NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  16. 2007-2008FCAT Reading and Math DataHomeless Students

  17. 2007-2008 FCAT - 33 Subgrantee Districts Number/Percent of Homeless Students Scoring at or Above Proficient Reading - Grades 3-12 Source: 2007-2008 FDOE Survey 5/Education Data Warehouse

  18. Trend Data - FCAT - 33 Subgrantee Districts Number/Percent of Homeless Students Scoring at or Above Proficient Reading - Grades 3-12 Source: 2007-2008 FDOE Survey 5/Education Data Warehouse

  19. 2007-2008 FCAT - 33 Subgrantee Districts Number/Percent of Homeless Students Scoring at or Above Proficient Math - Grades 3-12 Source: 2007-2008 FDOE Survey 5/Education Data Warehouse

  20. Trend Data - FCAT - 33 Subgrantee Districts Number/Percent of Homeless Students Scoring at or Above Proficient Math - Grades 3-12 Source: 2007-2008 FDOE Survey 5/Education Data Warehouse

  21. Students suffer psychologically, socially, and academically from mobility. It takes children an average of 4-6 months to recover academically after changing schools. Research on School Mobility (cont.) NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  22. Mobile students are less likely to participate in extracurricular activities and more likely to act out or get into trouble. Research on School Mobility (cont.) • Mobility during high school greatly diminishes the likelihood of graduation. • Study found students who changed high schools even once were less than half as likely as stable students to graduate, even controlling for other factors.

  23. Took handgun to school Took handgun to school Took handgun to school Drunk or high at school Drunk or high at school Drunk or high at school Attacked someone to hurt them Attacked someone to hurt them Attacked someone to hurt them Been arrested Been arrested Been arrested Changed homes Changed homes Changed homes Stole/Attempted to steal vehicle Stole/Attempted to steal vehicle Stole/Attempted to steal vehicle Did not change homes Did not change homes Did not change homes Sold illegal drugs Sold illegal drugs Sold illegal drugs Carried a handgun Carried a handgun Carried a handgun Been Suspended Been Suspended Been Suspended 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 15.0 15.0 15.0 20.0 20.0 20.0 25.0 25.0 25.0 Mobility and Prevalence of Delinquent BehaviorsMiddle School – Changed HomesPast Year (%) DRAFT-Source 2008 FYSAS DRAFT-Source 2008 FYSAS

  24. Took handgun to school Drunk or high at school Attacked someone to hurt them Been arrested Changed schools Stole/Attempted to steal vehicle Did not change schools Sold illegal drugs Carried a handgun Been Suspended 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 Mobility and Prevalence of Delinquent BehaviorsMiddle School – Changed Schools Past Year (%) DRAFT-Source 2008 FYSAS

  25. Took handgun to school Drunk or high at school Attacked someone to hurt them Been arrested Changed homes Stole/Attempted to steal vehicle Did not change homes Sold illegal drugs Carried a handgun Been Suspended 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 Mobility and Delinquent BehaviorsHigh School – Changed Homes Past Year (%) DRAFT-Source 2008 FYSAS

  26. Took handgun to school Drunk or high at school Attacked someone to hurt them Been arrested Stole/Attempted to steal vehicle Changed schools Sold illegal drugs Did not change schools Carried a handgun Been Suspended 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 Mobility and Prevalence of Delinquent BehaviorsHigh School – Changed Schools Past Year (%) DRAFT-Source 2008 FYSAS

  27. Summary Delinquent Behaviors by Mobile Youth • Increased mobility is related with increased delinquent behavior • Mobility is most closely related to being drunk or high at school, attacking someone with the intent of harming them, and school suspension DRAFT-Source 2008 FYSAS NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  28. Highly Mobile Students Risk and Protective Factors - School Domain School Risk and Protective Factors for Delinquent Behaviors by Times Changed Homes since Kindergarten (Scale: 0-10) Low Commitment to School 5+ times Risk 3-4 times 0-2 times Poor Academic Performance School Rewards for Prosocial Involvement Protection School Opportunities for Prosocial Involvement 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DRAFT-Source 2008 FYSAS

  29. School Stability— Key Provisions Students can stay in their school of origin for the duration of homelessness and until the end of the school year when they find permanent housing, as long as that is in their best interest. School of origin—school attended when permanently housed or in which last enrolled. • Can always also choose the local school (any school others living in the same area are eligible to attend). • Best interest—keep homeless students in their schools of origin, to the extent “feasible”, unless this is against the parents’ or guardians’ wishes.

  30. Feasibility—USDE Sample Criteria A child-centered, individualized determination Continuity of instruction Age of the child or youth Safety of the child or youth Likely length of stay in temporary housing Likely area where family will find permanent housing Student’s need for special instructional programs Impact of commute on education School placement of siblings Time remaining in the school year NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  31. Transportation—Key Provisions LEAs must provide transportation to and from their school of origin, at a parent’s or guardian’s request (or at the liaison’s request for unaccompanied youth). If crossing LEA lines, they must determine how to divide the responsibility and share the cost, or they must share the cost equally. NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  32. Transportation—Key Provisions LEAs also must provide students in homeless situations with transportation services comparable to those provided to other students. LEAs must eliminate barriers to the school enrollment and retention of students experiencing homelessness (including transportation barriers). NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  33. Transportation of Homeless Students - Charter Schools • Ultimately LEA’s Responsibility • Whether the LEA does or does not transport non-homeless students to a charter school is not a factor in the LEA’s requirements under McKinney-Vento to transport homeless students if it is their school of origin [Section 722(g)(1)(J)(iii)(I)]. NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  34. Transportation of Homeless Students - Charter Schools • Office of Independent Education and Parental Choice’s has produced a Technical Assistance Paper on Transportation of Homeless Students • http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/information/Charter_schools/files/Homeless_Student_Transportation_TAP.pdf NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  35. Remaining Barriers toEducation of Homeless Students #1 Barrier in 2008-2009 School Year - Transportation to and from the School of Origin Ten (30%) of the 33 Florida school districts with McKinney-Vento subgrants reported transportation as the number one barrier. Transportation to and from the school of origin has been the number one barrier for districts with subgrants for the past five (5) school years. NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  36. Barriers to Education forHomeless Children and Youth Source: Consolidated State Performance Report – FDOE Barriers Survey 08-09, 07-08, 06-07

  37. Implementation Challenges Lack of funding Capacity/staffing - for McKinney-Vento and transportation departments Logistical puzzles - coordinating across district and/or state lines Young children - capacity and safety Children with special needs Extracurricular activities, summer school, after-school programs Parental involvement NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  38. Transportation Strategies Develop close ties among local liaisons, school staff, pupil transportation staff, and shelter workers. Use school buses (including special education, magnet school, and other buses). Develop formal or informal agreements with school districts where homeless children cross district lines. Use public transit where feasible. Use approved carpools, van or taxi services. Reimburse parents and youth for gas. NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  39. Sample Work Flow: Adrian, MI School buses: Re-route; extend; create transfer points. “Share” students who attend voc-tech center. Employ school district vans used for sports events (driven by transportation director) Public transportation: Not ideal in small town, or when students are involved in extracurricular activities NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  40. Sample Work Flow: Adrian, MI Teachers: Liaison matches teachers who live in one district, but work in another with students. Approved by superintendent (teachers’ insurance and school insurance). Fuel cards from Speedway, other “mom and pop” stations. Combines fuel cards with bus extensions NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  41. Taxi as Last Resort: Collects insurance, background checks, licenses. Re-evaluates each situation for alternatives Uses taxi in emergency situations (sick child, etc.) Arranges for parents to accompany young children Taxi company does provide a discount, looking at fund-raisers Investigating use of church buses Sample Work Flow: Adrian, MI NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  42. New Opportunities ARRA stimulus funding: $3.1 million for McKinney-Vento in Florida 10% of ARRA funds may be used to cover the “excess cost” of transporting students to and from the school of origin Title I, Part A: According to USDE guidance, cannot be used for school of origin transportation, but can be used for staffing, preschool transportation, other transportation NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  43. Spotlight: Fairfax County, VA • Used Title I, ARRA funds to hire a full-time homeless transportation specialist • Liaison determines eligibility and best interest, makes referral • Transportation specialist determines most efficient, economical, safe method of transportation • Specialist re-routes existing school bus transportation, accesses any special education transportation, reviews the public bus routes, and finds out if the parent or youth has their own transportation and can use gas reimbursement • Specialist tracks students in a database, looks at the individual school attendance to see if the transportation is improving the attendance of the student • So far, greatly reduced use of taxis NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  44. Spotlight: St. Paul, MN • Used Title I, Part A funds to hire a part-time homeless transportation specialist • All requests from homeless program go through specialist; she interfaces with transportation department • Minnesota has weighted reimbursement for homeless transportation; specialist handles reporting requirements for this reimbursement • On-line database for transportation routers and homeless team; all requests entered • Database helps program trouble-shoot when a child misses the bus, or when a bus is late • Looking at hiring a pool of substitute aides for homeless children with special needs NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  45. Spotlight: Janesville, WI • Janesville school district contracts with a community member to transport young children to and from school. • The district placed a newspaper ad asking retired people to respond if they were interested in being paid to provide district transportation services. • The district pays the contractor for morning, mid-morning, and afternoon services. NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  46. Spotlight: Janesville, WI Janesville provides the following: • Background check of the driver • Health physical • Vehicle inspection • Passenger and route information • Pay a flat stipend of $1.00/mile, an additional $0.485/mile (federal reimbursement rate) to reimburse the driver for additional insurance coverage, and a $5.00/morning and 5.00/afternoon retainer fee. NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  47. Spotlight: Tucson, Arizona • Sunnyside School District was spending $200,000 - $300,000 per year to transport homeless students, primarily in cabs • New transportation director: normalize life for homeless kids; questioned outsourcing • Divided the city into quadrants; organized buses within quadrants to respond to homeless students • Dramatically reduced costs • Bus drivers do more than transport: report to CPS; help children get to school on time • Drivers for these routes are selected for empathy, sensitivity, patience • Students tutoring other students on buses NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  48. Federal Policy Outlook • FY2010 Appropriations: $65 million proposed, same as FY2009 (funding reaches 9% of all school districts in the Nation) • In Florida, 61% of school districts receive funding ranging from $20,000 to $125,00 • Reauthorization of McKinney-Vento as part of Elementary and Secondary Education Act - expected in 2010 NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

  49. Key Issues in Reauthorization • Increase capacity and training of liaisons • Increase authorized funding level for the program • Require the amount of Title I set-aside to be based on objective criteria • Explicitly authorize transportation to the school of origin as an allowable use of Title I set-aside • Strengthen provisions for preschool children NAEHCY • www.naehcy.org

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