McKinney-Vento Act (42 USC 11431 et seq.)

Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Act establishes the Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program. It defines "homeless children and youth" to cover students living in a variety of unstable or inadequate situations and assigns them with many education rights, including the right to enroll in and attend school immediately while necessary documents are obtained, to continue attending the same school despite changes in temporary living situations, to receive transportation to that school, and to access dispute resolution procedures. The Act also requires states and school districts to review and revise their policies to eliminate barriers to homeless students' enrollment and retention in school.

• US Department of Education Guidance (2004)
  Although the US Department of Education has not promulgated regulations to implement the McKinney-Vento Act, it issued this lengthy Non-Regulatory Guidance to assist states and school districts in implementing the Act's provisions.

Individual With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 USC 1400 et seq.)

IDEA is a federal law originally passed in 1975 to ensure that students with disabilities receive a free, appropriate public education. It requires that school districts provide appropriate special education and related services to students who need those services due to a disability. It also mandates that states identify, locate and serve all eligible children in the state, specifically including those experiencing homelessness. IDEA Part B covers children and youth ages 3 through 21. Part C covers infants and toddlers birth to 3. The US Department of Education has promulgated lengthy regulations to implement IDEA.

• Summary of 2004 Reauthorization re: Homeless and Highly Mobile Students
  IDEA was reauthorized in 2004, adding many provisions specific to homeless and highly mobile students.
  
  
• Part B regulations: 34 CFR Parts 300 and 301
  In 2006 the US Department of Education issued these final regulations to implement the 2004 reauthorization of IDEA Part B.
  
  
• Part C Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 2007
  The US Department of Education has not issued final regulations for Part C since the 2004 reauthorization, but it published this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 2007.
  
  
• Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education Question and Answer (Q & A) document on IDEA and McKinney-Vento implementation for homeless students
  OSERS and OESE issued this document in 2008 to provide State and local educational officials, early intervention services providers, and homeless assistance coordinators with information to assist with implementation of the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its implementing regulations and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act). Also see NLCHP and NAEHCY's response to this document below.
  
  
• NLCHP and NAEHCY Response to Q&A Document
  It is our hope that the OSERS Q&A will address many of the challenges schools have encountered in ensuring that students with disabilities in homeless situations receive a free, appropriate public education.  However, there are several areas where the Q&A could be clarified to avoid confusion and the denial of rights provided to students and parents under the McKinney-Vento Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). There are also several areas where further guidance would be helpful.  To bring these concerns to the attention of OSERS, NAEHCY and NLCHP submitted comments to the Q&A in August 2008. It is our hope that OSERS will consider our comments and revise the Q&A.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 USC 794)

Section 504 protects disabled individuals from discrimination on the basis of handicap in several contexts, including education. Specifically, schools must provide appropriate accommodations to ensure that students with disabilities are not excluded from participating in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination in school solely due to their disabilities.

• 34 CFR Part 104
  The US Department of Education issued these regulations to implement Section 504.

Head Start Act (42 USC 9801 et seq.)

Head Start is a national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families. The Head Start program provides grants to local public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies to provide comprehensive child development services to economically disadvantaged children ages 3 to 5 and their families, with a special focus on helping preschoolers develop the early reading and math skills they need to be successful in school. In FY 1995, the Early Head Start program was established to serve children from birth to 3 years of age in recognition of the mounting evidence that the earliest years matter a great deal to children's growth and development.

• Summary of 2007 Reauthorization re: Homeless Children and Families
  Head Start was reauthorized in 2007, adding many provisions specific to homeless and highly mobile students.

Higher Education Act (20 USC 1001 et seq.)

The Higher Education Act defines eligibility and procedures for federal financial aid for postsecondary education. It also authorizes several programs that support at-risk junior high and high school students to graduate from high school, enter college, and complete their degrees. These programs include Talent Search, Upward Bound, Gear-Up, and Student Support Services.

• College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007
  This Act increased the amount and availability of federal Pell Grants, lowered the interest rates on Stafford Loans, established Income-Based repayment terms and loan forgiveness terms, and adjusted the needs analysis for financial aid, among other changes. Parts of the Act do not go into effect until July, 2009.
  
  
• Summary of 2007 Amendments re: Unaccompanied Youth
  The College Cost Reduction and Access Act changed the definition of "independent student" to include unaccompanied youth and expanded eligibility for foster youth.

No Child Left Behind Act

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. NCLB contains large number of education laws and programs, some of which are listed below. The McKinney-Vento Act (above) was incorporated into NCLB as Title X, Part C.

• Title I, Part A: Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies (20 USC 6311 et seq.)
  
  
• Title I, Part B: Even Start (20 USC 6381-6381k)
  
  
• Title I, Part C: Migrant Education Program (20 USC 6391 et seq.)
  
  
• Title I, Part D: Neglected, Delinquent or At-Risk (20 USC 6421 et seq.)
  
  
• Title I, Part H: Dropout Prevention (20 USC 6551 et seq.)
  
  
• Title III: Immigrant Education (20 USC 6821-6871)
  
  
• Title IV, Part A: Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (20 USC 7101 et seq.)
  
  
• Title IV, Part B: 21st Century Community Learning Centers (20 USC 7171 et seq.))
  
  
• Title V, Part B: Public Charter School Program (20 USC 7221 et seq.)
  

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g)

FERPA protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA gives parents certain rights to access and maintain confidential their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.

• 34 CFR Part 99
  

Child Nutrition Act (42 USC 1771 et seq.)

The Child Nutrition Act established the School Breakfast Program, which reimburses institutions for breakfasts for children and youth. The law also created the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC), which provides grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant and postpartum women and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.

Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act (Pub. Law 108-265)

These 2004 amendments to the Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act made homeless, runaway and migrant children and youth automatically eligible for free school meals and exempted them from the requirement to complete an application.

• USDA Child Nutrition Division Memorandum re: automatic eligibility (July 2004)
  
  
• USDA Child Nutrition Division Memorandum re: documenting eligibility for homeless children and youth (April 2002)
  
  
• USDA Child Nutrition Division Memorandum re: documenting eligibility for youth served under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (Sept. 2004)
  

Richard Russell National School Lunch Act (42 USC 1751 et seq.)

This law established the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), which reimburses schools and residential child care institutions for meals for children. It also established the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), for local sponsors who want to offer meals in a summer activity program.

Carl Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (20 USC 2301 et seq.)

The Perkins Act provides federal funding and guidance to postsecondary institutions to provide supplementary services for students in career and technical programs through Basic Grants and Tech Prep Grants.

Conventions on the Rights of the Child

American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man