The Politics of Policy in the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act: Setting the Agenda for Students Experiencing Homelessness

Pavlakis, Alexandra E.; Duffield, Barbara

doi:10.1007/s11256-017-0422-0

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act McKinney-Vento, established in 1987 and recently reauthorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), is the most comprehensive federal legislation designed to support the academic achievement of students impacted by homelessness (Pavlakis and Duffield 2017). The policy defines student homelessness broadly as any student who lacks a "fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence" (42 US Code § 11434a(2)(A)).…”

Section: Research In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…McKinney-Vento has been reauthorized five times (1988, 1990, 1994, 2001, and 2015). Each reauthorization has increased the number of mandates that State Educational Agencies (SEAs) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) were required to abide by within the policy (Pavlakis and Duffield 2017). Additionally, McKinney-Vento's reauthorizations have broadened the scope of who fits the definition of homelessness and how they are supported by policy.…”

Section: Research In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Deck 2017), different family compositions (Aviles de Bradley 2011) and recently geographical locations (rural, suburban, and urban) (Pavlakis 2018). In several cases, researchers' concerns have been incorporated into the policy discourse around student homelessness and have informed the McKinney-Vento's reauthorization amendments (Pavlakis and Duffield 2017). Moreover, the inclusion of more subpopulations within the policy has led to deeper research on homeless students' nuanced experiences.…”

Section: Research In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to expanding the McKinney-Vento definition of homeless to include doubledup students, the NCLB reauthorization also emphasizes the need for homeless liaisons to support unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness (Pavlakis and Duffield 2017). McKinney-Vento defines unaccompanied youth as homeless children and youth who are not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.…”

Section: Family Composition and Homelessnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act (2015) (McKinney-Vento) is the most significant piece of federal legislation addressing the needs of students experiencing homelessness (Gabbard, Ford, and May 2006). The federal policy defines student homelessness, articulates the legal rights of students experiencing homelessness, and outlines the range of supports that school districts are required to provide students identified as homeless (Pavlakis and Duffield 2017). While McKinney-Vento has made school more accessible to students experiencing homelessness nationwide (Miller 2011), little is known about the extent to which the federal policy addresses the specific needs of Black students, who research continually confirms are disproportionately impacted by homelessness (Carrasco 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Young, Black, successful, and homeless: examining the unique academic challenges of Black students who experienced homelessness

Edwards

2020

Journal of Children and Poverty

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Youth homelessness is a growing crisis impacting urban high schools across the United States. Black youth, in particular, are disproportionately affected. While the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is designed to provide educational access to students experiencing homelessness, the extent to which the policy supports Black students is unclear. This qualitative study uses structural racism as an analytic framework to examine the narratives of eight Black youth who successfully graduated high school while experiencing homelessness. Findings show that being Black and experiencing homelessness creates unique challenges for accessing resources under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Participants identified hostile racial climates at school as a common deterrent from disclosing their homeless status to adults at school, thereby restricting their access to federal support. The findings suggest the need for race-conscious language and interventions to be included in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Additionally, the author urges more researchers studying youth homelessness to use a critical racial lens to address the racial knowledge gap that exists in the current literature on student homelessness.

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Section: Research In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%