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IsMyEarlyChildhoodProgramaMcKinney-Vento“Preschool?”Formanyyoungchildrenexperiencinghomelessness,remainingintheschooloforiginprovidestheironlyaccesstopreschool;whenchildrenmoveintoanewcommunityduetohomelessness,enrollinginalocalpreschoolusuallyisimpossible,eitherbecausetherearenopreschoolprogramsavailable,orthosethatareavailablealreadyarefull.TheEveryStudentSucceedsAct(ESSA)amendedtheMcKinney-VentoActtoincludepreschoolsspecificallywithinthedefinitionof“schooloforigin.”iAsaresult,childrenexperiencinghomelessnesscanremaininthepreschooltheyattendedwhenpermanentlyhoused,orthepreschoolinwhichtheywerelastenrolled,ifthatisintheirbestinterest.iiThisrighttoremaininthesamepreschoolincludestherighttoreceivetransportationtopreschool(evenifpreschooltransportationisnottypicallyprovided)iii,andcontinuesforaslongasthechildishomeless,anduntiltheendoftheacademicyearinwhichthechildmovesintopermanenthousing.ivNeitherESSAnorU.S.DepartmentofEducation(ED)Guidanceincludesaspecificdefinitionof“preschool.”Todeterminewhetheraparticularearlychildhoodeducationprogramisa“preschool”underESSA,ahelpfulreferenceisthedefinitionEDusesforMcKinney-Ventodatacollection.vPertheU.S.DepartmentofEducation’sdatacollection,specificexamplesofpreschoolprogramsthatmeetthisdefinitioninclude:• PreschoolprogramsoperatedoradministeredbyanLEA;• HeadStartprogramsreceivingfundingfromanLEAorforwhichanLEAreceivesthegrant;• PreschoolspecialeducationservicesoperatedorfundedbytheLEAormandatedunderthe
IndividualswithDisabilitiesEducationAct;• PreschoolprogramsandservicesadministeredorfundedbytheLEAthroughtheuseofTitleIor
similargovernmentgrants;and• Home-basedearlychildhoodeducationalservicesfundedandadministeredbyanLEA.Theflowchartonthefollowingpageprovidesaguidetounderstandingthatdefinition.
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Doestheprogramservechildrenbetweenbirthand
fiveyears? No.
Not a preschool.
Doestheprogramreceivepublicfunding? Not a preschool.
Yes.
Isalocaleducationalagencyafinancialagent?DoesanLEAcontributefundingtotheprogram?(Providingfreespaceasanin-kinddonation,inandofitself,doesnotmaketheLEAafinancialagent.Payingforstaff,inwholeorinpart,doesmaketheLEAafinancialagent.)
Yes. A preschool.
Is an LEA an administrative agent? Does the LEA make decisions about the curriculum, services, staffing, or operations of the program?
No.
Is an LEA accountable for providing early childhood education services? Does a state or federal authority hold the LEA accountable for the program?
No.
Yes. A preschool.
Yes. A preschool.
Yes.
No.
Not a preschool.
No.
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Inadditiontoaddingpreschoolstothedefinitionofschooloforigin,ESSAalsoextendedschooloforiginrightstodesignatedreceivingschoolsatthenextgradelevelforallfeederschools.viThisraisesthequestionofwhenpreschoolsshouldbeconsideredtobefeederschools.BasedonthestatuteandU.S.DepartmentofEducationGuidance,thekeyquestioniswhetherthepreschoolisafeederschoolwithadesignatedreceivingschool.
i42U.S.C.§11432(g)(3)(I).ii42U.S.C.§11432(g)(3)(A).iii42U.S.C.§11432(g)(1)(J)(iii).iv42U.S.C.§11432(g)(3)(B).v[E]arlychildhoodeducationprogramsforchildrenaged0-5,fundedthroughtaxdollarsorotherpublicfunds,andforwhichtheLEAisafinancialoradministrativeagentorforwhichtheLEAisaccountableforprovidingearlychildhoodeducationservices.”ExamplesofpreschoolprogramsincludedinfederaldatacollectionincludepreschoolprogramsoperatedoradministeredbyanLEA;HeadStartprogramsreceivingfundingfromtheLEAorforwhichtheLEAisthegrantrecipient;preschoolspecialeducationservices,operatedorfundedbytheLEAormandatedundertheIndividualswithDisabilitiesEducationAct;preschoolprogramsandservicesadministeredorfundedbytheLEAthroughtheuseofTitleIorsimilargovernmentgrants;orhome-basedearlychildhoodeducationalservicesfundedandadministeredbyanLEA.”NationalCenterforHomelessEducation(2016).GuidetoReportingFederalData.nche.ed.gov/downloads/data-guide-15-16.pdf.vi42U.S.C.§11432(g)(3)(I).TheU.S.DepartmentofEducationofferedthefollowingexampleofafeederschool:“Forexample,astudentwaslastenrolledinSchoolAingrade5,whichisthefinalgradelevelservedbySchoolA.StudentsatSchoolAaredesignatedtoattendSchoolBbeginninginthenextgradelevel,grade6.TheschooloforiginforthisstudentwouldthereforeincludeSchoolAandthedesignatedreceivingschoolatthenextgradelevel,SchoolB.”U.S.DepartmentofEducation(2016).EducationofHomelessChildrenandYouthsProgramNon-RegulatoryGuidance,I-1.
Doallchildrencompletingthepreschoolprogramautomaticallyfeedintoadesignatedelementaryschoolforkindergarten?
Yes.
ThisISafeederschool,andchildrenhavetherighttoattendkindergarteninthedesignatedelementaryschoolastheirschooloforigin.
Dochildrencompletingthepreschoolattendmanydifferentelementaryschoolsforkindergarten,basedonfactorssuchasresidenceoralottery,ratherthanbasedonwheretheyattendedpreschool?
ThisisNOTafeederschool,andchildrendonothavetherighttoattendaparticularelementaryschoolforkindergartenastheirschooloforigin.However,eveninthiscase,theLEAmayselectthechild’skindergartenclassbasedonthechild’sbestinterest,andconsideringfactorssuchasthechild’smobility,placementofsiblings,trauma,andspecialneeds.
Yes.