Tought Leader
ment, and to designate a point of contact for child welfare agencies to oversee the SEA responsibilities. Under ESSA, LEAs receiving Title I, Part A funding must collaborate with the state or local child welfare agency to develop and implement procedures for transporting foster youth. Tese local procedures must ensure that if there are additional costs incurred in providing transportation to the school of origin, LEAs will provide it if: Tey are reimbursed by the child welfare agency; the LEA agrees to pay the costs; or the LEA and the child welfare agency agree to share the costs. ESSA also removes the phrase “awaiting foster care placement”
from the definition of homelessness in the McKinney-Vento Act. In so doing, Congress addressed concerns about appropriate roles for educational and child welfare agencies, as well as the need to ensure that the McKinney-Vento Act’s very limited funding–$70 million in FY2016–is focused on children and youth who have few if any other supports.
WHAT DO ESSA’S POLICIES FOR HOMELESS AND FOSTER YOUTH MEAN FOR SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION?
To a large degree, the impact of the new McKinney-Vento policies on school transportation will depend on previous imple- mentation of the law. For some school districts, the changes will be minimal, while for others, the ESSA amendments should spark new conversations and require new strategies. Contacting and working closely with the school district homeless liaison is the best place to begin. For the new foster care provisions, implementation will be driv-
en by the quality of collaboration with child welfare agencies at the state and local level. ESSA envisions shared responsibility between educational agencies and child welfare agencies, to be spelled out in local transportation procedures; school transporters, therefore, should be at the table in the development of these procedures.
SPECIFIC STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION School districts have been immensely creative in meeting
McKinney-Vento’s transportation mandates. Keys for success include regular communication across departments and across school districts, sustained training and professional development for transportation personnel, thorough reviews of existing methods and resources, and exploration of community partnerships to fill gaps. Specific strategies are summarized below.
WHAT’S ALREADY IN PLACE? ADAPTING EXISTING METHODS:
• Work with McKinney-Vento liaisons to map out the locations of where McKinney-Vento students are staying. Understanding patterns of mobility and concentrations of homelessness can help determine the most efficient way to transport, including extending routes; rerouting buses past motels, hotels, shelters, and transitional living facilities; de- termining the locations of pick-up and transfer points, etc.
• Explore the use of special education, magnet and alternative education buses and routes, which may offer greater flexibility.
36 School Transportation News • JUNE 2017 CELEBRATING25YEARS
• Determine if buses can transport homeless students on their way to assignments (and back).
• Work with the school district homeless liaison to determine if any of the school district’s early childhood program’s meet the definition of “preschool,” and what kinds of trans- portation might be adapted to meet the needs of homeless preschoolers. For example, transportation for pre-school special education (IDEA, Part B) could be used for McKin- ney-Vento preschool purposes.
• •
Identify a transportation staff member to work closely with the school district liaison and to serve as the point person to arrange transportation for homeless students.
If capacity issues arise, explore the purchase of smaller buses and/or minivans, which can be utilized for school and sports events to increase usage and generate offsetting revenue.
BEYOND THE BUS School bus transportation is the gold standard for safety, nor- malcy and efficiency. However, the high mobility of students ex- periencing homelessness, the unpredictable nature of homelessness and the growth in homelessness have necessitated case-by-case, alternate and sometimes interim means of transportation. Even when transportation is not provided by school buses, the involve- ment of school transporters in decisions about alternate methods is essential. Alternate means include:
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If public transit exists, purchasing transit for older students, and/or parents. Some communities have provided discount- ed transportation passes for McKinney-Vento students.
• Reimbursing parents or older youth for gas, or purchasing “fuel only” cards from gas stations or convenience stores, based on student attendance. School districts have devel- oped guidelines, including signed agreements.
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Subject to background checks and safety training, work with axis as a form of interim transportation, including to transport students to their former neighborhood where they can catch their school bus. Reimburse school district staff to transport students experiencing homelessness. All requirements for alternative vehicles and drivers, including background checks, health physicals, vehicle inspections, and insurance verification would apply.
•
Contract with third parties, including community mem- bers and subsidized public transportation.
IMPLEMENTATION AND RESOURCES Implementation of these new policies will require a sustained focus on training, partnerships and revising state and local policies. School transportation professionals should contact the LEA home- less liaison to learn more about the changes to the McKinney-Ven- to Act for homeless children and youth. For changes related to children and youth in foster care, transportation professionals should contact the SEA foster care point of contact. ●
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