McKinney Vento

Jessica Smith
Executive Director of Student Services
McKinney-Vento District Liaison
jessica_mack@iss.k12.nc.us
704-832-2549

Homeless Screening
To make it easier for families to reach out to us about their housing circumstances, we created this screening. If you are experiencing housing instability, please complete the following form, and a School Social Worker will follow up with you.

McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

The Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program, authorized under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act), is designed to address the needs of homeless children and youth and ensure educational rights and protections. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) amended the McKinney-Vento Act, and changes made by the ESSA took effect on October 1, 2016.

Supporting the Success of Homeless Children and Youths

Who is considered homeless?

Under the McKinney-Vento Act, the term “homeless children and youths” means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes children and youths:

who are sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;
who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;
and who are migratory children who live in one of the above circumstances

What protections does the McKinney-Vento Act require for homeless children and youth?

Under the McKinney-Vento Act, State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) must review and revise policies and procedures to remove barriers to a high-quality education for homeless children and youths. Every LEA must designate a local liaison able to carry out their duties to ensure that homeless students are identified and have a full and equal opportunity to succeed in school. The McKinney-Vento Act also requires that:

homeless students who move have the right to remain in their schools of origin (i.e., the school the student attended when permanently housed or in which the student was last enrolled, which includes preschools) if that is in the student’s best interest;
if it is in the student’s best interest to change schools, homeless students must be immediately enrolled in a new school, even if they do not have the records normally required for enrollment.
transportation must be provided to or from a student’s school of origin, at the request of a parent, guardian, or, in the case of an unaccompanied youth, the local liaison;
homeless students must have access to all programs and services for which they are eligible, including special education services, preschool, school nutrition programs, language assistance for English learners, career and technical education, gifted and talented programs, magnet schools, charter schools, summer learning, online learning, and after-school care;
unaccompanied youths must be accorded specific protections, including immediate enrollment in school without proof of guardianship;
parents, guardians, and unaccompanied youths have the right to dispute an eligibility, school selection, or enrollment decision.

How YOU Can Help

You can help by donating the following:

Hair care services

Clothing

Food items

Transportation (auto service, gas cards, taxi fare, etc.)

Personal hygiene (male/female)

Gift cards (meals, gas, etc.)

Household/Laundry cleaning items

Extra-curricular activities participation (supplies, fees, etc.)

School supplies

Student fees (field trips, senior fees, prom, college app, graduation, yearbook, etc.)

Emergency medical needs (prescriptions, O-T-C meds, cost of appt., etc.)

Hotel accommodation cost

Financial donation

Basic supplies for college start (bedding, computer, school supplies, clothing, etc.)

Provide meals for families in hotel

Additional Information Concerning McKinney-Vento Rights and Services

For Additional Information Concerning McKinney-Vento Rights and Services:

North Carolina Homeless Education Program N CHEP

National Center on Homeless Education https://nche.ed.gov

National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth http://naehcy.org/

McKinney-Vento Educational Rights

Number of McKinney-Vento Students Served:
25-26 School Year: 398
24-25 School Year: 563
23-24 School Year: 462
22-23 School Year: 333
21-22 School Year: 290
20-21 School Year: 232
19-20 School Year: 326

Additional Contact

Dispute Resolution Process

Iredell Statesville Schools
Statement of Rights and Procedures during the Dispute Resolution Process

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act entitles homeless children to a free, appropriate public education and requires schools to remove barriers to their enrollment, attendance, and success in school. This federal law protects all students who do not have a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence as defined by the Act. You have the right to:

Initiate the dispute resolution process in writing or verbally, either at the school or at the local liaison’s office.
Submit your appeal to the Iredell Statesville Schools’ homeless liaison or the school principal within five (5) school days of receiving the denial of eligibility, school selection, or enrollment.

Jessica Smith, McKinney-Vento District Liaison
Educational Support Center: 292 Old Murdock Road, Troutman, NC 28166
704-832-2549
jessica_mack@iss.k12.nc.us

The complaint should include the date of the filing; a description of the disputed action pertaining to eligibility, school selection, or enrollment; the name of the person(s) involved; and a description of the relief requested.
You have the right to provide supporting written or verbal documentation during the appeal process. You also have the right to seek the assistance of an advocate or attorney.
Your child(ren) can remain at the current school or enroll immediately at the school located in the attendance zone of your nighttime temporary residence with transportation provided, if necessary, pending the resolution of the dispute.
Know that immediate enrollment includes full participation in all school activities.
No more than two school days after the complainant initiates the dispute resolution process, the local liaison shall (1) inform the superintendent, other school officials participating in the dispute resolution process, and the State Coordinator of the dispute, and (2) provide a written decision, including the reasons for the decision, to the complainant and the superintendent.
Iredell Statesville Schools’ homeless liaison and district administrators shall carry out the dispute resolution process in accordance with the Dispute Resolution Process outlined in Iredell Statesville Schools Board of Education Policy 4125 – Homeless Students, a copy of which accompanies this decision.

Contact information of the State Coordinator for Homeless Education:
Lisa Phillips
336-315-7491
Lisa.phillips@dpi.nc.gov