McKinney-Vento Spring Newsletter

At Roby CISD, we believe every student deserves dignity, support, and a voice in their education. Through our McKinney-Vento (MV) Program, we prioritize student needs by fostering trust and connection. Whether providing essentials like track spikes or haircuts or guiding students toward college or trade school, we are committed to their success. Collaboration with regional liaisons and local partners, including the new Dollar General, helps us expand resources for students and families. By working together, we create a stronger, more supportive community where every student can thrive.

🔗Bookmark: https://sites.google.com/esc14.net/homeless-foster/home

Miss a Region 14 M-V meeting?

Find the presentation links in the MV Meetings Folder in the Liaison Shared Drive, including our most recent meeting on March 4.

Have Questions? Join our Coffee Chat ☕Online Technical Assistance

April 1, 2025 | Zoom Link

McKinney-Vento 301 Online Training - Transportation - PDF Presentation and Video

McKinney-Vento 401 Online Training | March 13, 2025 - REGISTRATION and PREVIOUS TRAININGS AT TEHCY Web Portal Training Library

Register for TEA's Highly Mobile and At-Risk Program Webinars - Next meeting - May 1. Past and Future Webinars, Recordings, and Presentations found Here!

Under section 1113(c)(3)(A) of the ESEA, an LEA must reserve sufficient Title I funds to provide services to homeless students who attend nonTitle I schools that are comparable to those provided to students in Title I schools.

• Guidance and Worksheet to Determine Amount of Title I, Part A Homeless Reservation (Fillable Form)
• Title I, Part A Contacts: Mindy Broadfoot, ESC Region 14 | mbroadfoot@esc14.net | Vivian Smyrl, TEA Program Director, Title I, Part A | vivian.smyrl@TEA.Texas.gov

For a month to month list of activities see here.

• Now is the time to update your Student Residency Questionairre for next year, if you have needed changes. Shared Google Drive has examples of multiple SRQs.

• Connect with each school liaison to review the list of students identified as experiencing homelessness.

• Check-in with families and unaccompanied and homeless youth before spring break and summer to ensure families and youth have a plan for where they will go while there is no school. See sample email.

• Consider checking in with high school students identified as experiencing homelessness, and particularly unaccompanied youth, to check progress toward graduation and postsecondary plans. Consider transcript audits as a way to monitor progress toward graduation. Form: Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Documentation of Independent Student Status documentation for FAFSA, Meical Housing, Financial Aid.

• Consider working with school counselors to look for partial credit opportunities or credit recovery.

• Identification, Enrollment, and School Determination are ongoing services throughout the year. Continue to work with staff to ensure student needs are met.

• Review the list of identified students for the year. Follow up with any who may be participating in summer programming and are experiencing homelessness to ensure that barriers to participation are removed.

• Ensure Ascender/SIS is up-to-date with identified students and primary nighttime residence.

• Keep a list of students still in homeless situations at the end of the school year to follow up with those students in August for possible reidentification.

• For students transitioning into middle or high school or a different building for the following school year, connect with the homeless liaison or building point of contact so that a person can be in communication with the student and/or family in the following school year to ensure identification. See sample communication.

• Other services, as needed.

The TEHCY Discipline Toolkit provides a comprehensive overview of how to support and respond to students experiencing homelessness related to discipline.

TEHCY Discipline Toolkit (2024) | Rubric and Worksheets (Standalone) | Recording

• This updated guidance is designed to answer frequently asked questions concerning ESEA’s educational stability requirements and to provide support ensuring that students in foster care receive the necessary resources to thrive academically.
• Expanded information on: Transportation, Points of Contact, Collaboration, Best Interest Determination, and Post-Secondary Transitions
• New Non-Regulatory Guidance for Students in Foster Care (USDE & HHS)
• Highlights of Non Regulatory Guidance

• FERPA requires parental consent before a school can share personally identifiable information in education records about a student, with some exceptions.
• FERPA allows the school to share information with the student's state or local child welfare caseworkers without requiring permission of or notice to the students' legal parents.
• Texas law requires school districts & local campuses to notify the students’ educational decision-maker and caseworker regarding events that may significantly impact the education of a student in foster care.

❗❗Share with Secondary Counselors

1. Texas Tuition and Fee Waiver - State law that exempts or waives payment of tuition for foster youth currently or formerly in the care of DFPS and for those adopted from DFPS. Students can get their waiver from their DFPS PAL worker.

• Waives Tuition and Fees at state-supported schools in Texas
• Must be activated by age 25
• No age limit to enroll
• No limit on credit hours
• Not dependent upon GPA
• Works for online classes while living out of state

2. Education and Training Vouchers (ETV)

Federal need-based benefit for current and former foster youth to complete their post-secondary education. Applications accepted through March 31, 2025.

Elibility Requirements

• Youth who are at least 16 years old and still in foster care

• Young adults under 23 who: Have aged out of foster care, Are in extended foster care, Were adopted after turning 16

• Youth under the custody of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department or under the jurisdiction of a local juvenile probation department who were receiving Title IV-E foster care payments the day before turning age 18

• Tribal youth or young adults in tribal foster care

• Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM)

• Can only be used for a total of 15 semesters, ends the month of the student’s 23rd birthday.

Eligible students can receive up to $5,000 per school year to pay for

• Housing

• Utilities

• Tuition & fees – ex. private school

• Vocational training

• Personal living expenses

• Childcare

• Books and school supplies

• Computer (1)

• Transportation

👨🏻‍🎓For more information on the Texas Fee Waiver and ETVs click here. 👨🏻‍🎓 or contact Region 2 BCFS - Abilene.

3. Reminder: When students complete their college application via applytexas.org, close attention should be paid when filling out their current or prior foster care status. These questions help colleges and universities identify students who may be eligible to receive additional financial and campus supports.

👧🧒Imagination LEAP - Literary Engineers | K-2nd Grade

April 9-10

For More Information Contact:

Amanda Carpenter | acarpenter@esc14.net

Why it matters: For unaccompanied homeless youth and foster youth - applying early provides more time to obtain necessary documentation. 2025-26 FAFSA See Here.

What Liaisons can do: Help students by providing FAFSA eligibility determinations. Help parents and students create FSA IDs.

See section above for tuition assistance programs.

• Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) Conditional Grant Program The Conditional Grant Program is a state-mandated program that provides support for economically disadvantaged bachelor’s degree students entering or attending Texas public and private four-year institutions. Participants receive $4,000 per semester or $8,000 per academic year for tuition throughout their bachelor’s degree program. Upon graduation, they are offered a position at TxDOT with a commitment of staying on board for two years. The Conditional Grant application period opens in January 2025, with a deadline to apply by April 1. Please contact Talent Acquisition Specialists Jennifer Levine and Megan Zella at careers@txdot.gov for more information and to discuss local presentation opportunities. Watch to learn more.
• Association for Migrant Educators of Texas 2025 Scholarship - Deadline March 15, 2025. Apply Today! Prior winners can apply again!

Why it matters: Meaningful and sustainable employment is the key to creating and maintaining housing stability. Unemployment, underemployment, and low wages relative to rent are frequent causes of homelessness and burden millions of families with the risk of becoming homeless.

What Liaisons can do:

• Share the hiring lists Received in January for Abilene, Brownwood, and Wichita Falls
• Connect them with employers with a history of hiring students experiencing homelessness
• Provide job application/resume assistance
• Practice interviewing skills
• Advocate for their needs to potential employers
• Use your network and knowledge of available resources

NIDA's Understanding Polysubstance Use and How to Make Health-Enhancing Choices Student Training - The National Institute on Drug Abuse and SHAPE America have created lesson plans for high school students to help them understand polysubstance use and make healthier choices. This lesson teaches decision-making using the DECIDE model, which is a tool that can help teens feel equipped and empowered to make good decisions about their health.

Resource Catalog by Crime Stoppers - designed specifically to support everyone with critical safety resources. With just one click, you’ll have all the tools to promote safety and awareness at your school, right at your fingertips. This catalog is a comprehensive tool where you can access resources like:

Safe School Presentations for Students, Parents, Educators for FREE in English and Spanish

Students experiencing homelessness and/or living in foster care are more vulnerable to personal safety dangers than the average student population. Safe School Institute serves all of Texas.

Elementary students from Region 14 had an exciting day with Meredith Scott Lynn, founder/CEO of WRITE BRAiN BOOKS. Using their own creativity and implementing writing techniques shared by Ms. Meredith, students crafted stories inspired by wordless, illustrated pages. Ms. Meredith will publish their stories and return them in bound storybooks to the students—making them officially published authors!

Planning for Summer? 🌞

McKinney-Vento District Liaisons and All Educators - Share Link with your staff - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-rleDklriqdWywrWjWeACzHPPhSa0KaF/view?usp=drive_link

• Level up: Strengthening Compliance for Success (for MV Liaisons) - June 12 or July 23
• Walking in their shoes: A Poverty simulation Experience - June 25
• Simulation
• Breaking Barriers: Essential Skills for Supporting Students in Poverty
• Erin Gruwell, author of Freedom Writers - July 28th

• ESC 14 Counselor Newsletter
• AMET Professional Development Series
• TEHCY Newsletter | Jan 2025