Cypress School District*

Many children experiencing homelessness are not identified as such and therefore do not receive the support and benefits authorized by the McKinney-Vento Act. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with the finding. The district cannot verify that "many" children experiencing homelessness in Orange County are not identified as such and therefore do not receive McKinney-Vento services. As a result, the district cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially disagrees with this finding because it has processes and procedures in place to identify and serve students experiencing homelessness. The district provides opportunities for families to be identified under McKinney-Vento which include the annual data confirmation process for returning students and required residency questionnaires for new students. Furthermore, school office staff confirm the status of previously identified students who do not self-identify in the current school year. The district partially agrees with this finding because not all families choose to self-identify due to fear, legal status, embarrassment, or other factors. The district agrees that students whose families do not self-identify do not often receive the support and benefits authorized by the McKinney-Vento Act. – We inspire and empower . . . Every student, Every moment, for Every opportunity! \textstyle = Board of Trustees: Candice Kern • Sandra Lee • Brian Nakamura • Lydia Sondhi, Ph.D. • Troy Tanaka Superintendent: Anne Silavs Cypress School District's Response to the 2022-23 Orange County Grand Jury Report on The ABC's of Educating Children Experiencing Homelessness in Orange County August 18, 2023

The lack of mandatory McKinney-Vento Act training of school site office staff, counselors, and teachers contributes to a failure to identify children experiencing homelessness. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with the finding. The district does not have firsthand information regarding whether or not districts across Orange County mandate McKinney-Vento training and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially agrees with this finding because the training of key staff members supports the effective identification of students experiencing homelessness. The district partially disagrees with this finding because it provides annual training for key staff members (school administrators, school office staff, health assistants, and nurses) on the McKinney-Vento Act.

There is disparity in the application of McKinney-Vento regulations across Orange County public school districts which results in unequal access to educational benefits for children experiencing homelessness. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with the finding. The district does not have firsthand information regarding whether there is a disparity across all districts in Orange County leading to unequal access to educational benefits and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially disagrees with this finding because once it identifies students experiencing homelessness, families are provided with their educational rights and access to resources. Furthermore, the district ensures all of its students, including students experiencing homelessness, receive equal access to all educational benefits regardless of actual or perceived characteristics.

The majority of McKinney-Vento Liaisons are in full-time positions, but because their work includes multiple non-McKinney-Vento responsibilities, most do not have sufficient time to do the work required by the McKinney-Vento Act. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with the finding. The district does not have firsthand information regarding the workload of McKinney-Vento Liaisons throughout the county and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially agrees with this finding because, as a small elementary school district with limited resources, it does not have a dedicated, full-time McKinney-Vento Liaison. Rather, its Liaison is a full- time district administrator who is also assigned multiple non-McKinney-Vento responsibilities. The district partially disagrees with this finding because its Liaison effectively ensures the district is compliant with McKinney-Vento Act requirements.

Many McKinney-Vento Liaisons lack needed experience due to a high turnover rate in those positions. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with the finding. Cypress School District's Response to the 2022-23 Orange County Grand Jury Report on The ABC's of Educating Children Experiencing Homelessness in Orange County August 18, 2023 The district does not have firsthand information regarding the experience and turnover rate for McKinney-Vento Liaisons throughout the county and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially disagrees with this finding because its McKinney-Vento Liaison has been in the position for 10 years and has extensive experience in assisting students experiencing homelessness. Furthermore, its Liaison was assigned McKinney-Vento responsibilities in the school district where she was previously employed.

McKinney-Vento Act training is not mandatory for the majority of McKinney-Vento Liaisons. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with the finding. The district does not have firsthand information regarding whether or not districts across Orange County mandate McKinney-Vento training and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially disagrees with this finding because its McKinney-Vento Liaison annually participates in county-level and state training.

Students experiencing homelessness who are enrolled in an elementary district often do not continue to receive McKinney-Vento benefits when they move to a high school district because the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prevents the sharing of this information between districts. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with the finding. The district does not have firsthand knowledge regarding whether or not all elementary school districts in Orange County share student information with receiving high school districts and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. However, as an elementary school district, the district partially disagrees with this finding because it consistently shares information, including McKinney- Vento status, of all its matriculating sixth-grade students with the receiving high school district. Furthermore, FERPA does not prevent elementary school districts from sharing matriculating student information with the receiving high school district unless families have indicated they will be enrolling elsewhere. Under these circumstances, families authorize the release of student records to an alternative school district. Furthermore, FERPA does not prevent elementary school districts from sharing matriculating student information with the receiving high school district. FERP Subpart D, §99.31 states that an educational agency may disclose personally identifiable information from the education record of an enrolled student without consent to officials of another school, school system, or postsecondary education institution where the student seeks or intends to enroll, or where the student is already enrolled, so long as the disclosure is for purposes related to the student's enrollment or transfer.

McKinney-Vento funds depend on school districts submitting grant proposals, but not all districts have employees trained in writing grant applications, resulting in missed funding opportunities. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with the finding. Cypress School District's Response to the 2022-23 Orange County Grand Jury Report on The ABC's of Educating Children Experiencing Homelessness in Orange County August 18, 2023 The district does not have firsthand information on whether or not school districts in Orange County have employees trained in writing grant applications and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially disagrees with this finding because receiving funds for McKinney-Vento services is not dependent on grant applications; therefore, employees do not require training on how to write them. Rather, funds for providing McKinney-Vento services come in the form of Supplemental Grant Funds, which are an entitlement of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), and do not require a written grant application. Supplemental Grant Funds are distributed by the state based on the unduplicated count of English learners, low-income students, and foster youth enrolled in each school district. The LCFF requires school districts to write a Local Control and Accountability Plan that outlines how Supplemental Grant Funds will be expended to support these students. While the LCFF does not specifically reference "students experiencing homelessness" as a target group for whom Supplemental Grant Funds must be spent, students experiencing homelessness receive McKinney-Vento services with these funds because they are also low-income students.

School districts that do not apply for grants which fund programs benefitting children experiencing homelessness miss potential revenue opportunities. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with this finding. The district partially agrees with this finding because grants do exist to provide funds for additional programs and services that would benefit students experiencing homelessness. The district partially disagrees with this finding because the demographic characteristics of the student population it serves make it ineligible for most of these grants.

McKinney-Vento is an unfunded federally mandated program; however, school districts which qualify and apply for Title I, Part A funds may obtain revenues that can be used for children experiencing homelessness. These funds are insufficient to meet the needs of the school districts supporting children experiencing homelessness. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with the finding. The district partially agrees with this finding because the McKinney-Vento Act is an unfunded mandate. The district partially disagrees with this finding because federal Title I, Part A funds awarded to qualifying school districts can be used to support students experiencing homelessness. While the district agrees it could provide more services with additional federal funding, the Title I, Part A funds it receives, in combination with state Supplemental Grant Funds, enables the district to be compliant with McKinney-Vento Act requirements.

A lack of reliable transportation for children experiencing homelessness often results in chronic tardiness and absenteeism. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with the finding. The district partially agrees with this finding because a lack of reliable transportation for children experiencing homelessness can result in chronic tardiness and absenteeism. The district partially Cypress School District's Response to the 2022-23 Orange County Grand Jury Report on The ABC's of Educating Children Experiencing Homelessness in Orange County August 18, 2023 disagrees with this finding because it provides reliable transportation for students experiencing homelessness who have this need.

Chronic Absenteeism Rates of Homeless Students are disproportionately high in comparison with the Chronic Absenteeism Rates of All Students and Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students. The Cypress School District agrees with this finding.

Children experiencing homelessness in Orange County perform at a lower level on standardized tests and have a lower graduation rate than All Students and Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students. The Cypress School District agrees with this finding. However, as an elementary school district, it does not have firsthand information concerning high school graduation rates for students experiencing homelessness.

The percent of Homeless Students graduating who failed to meet state standards on English Language Arts and Math tests is significantly higher than it is for All Students and Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Students. The Cypress School District agrees with this finding. However, as an elementary school district, it does not have firsthand information concerning the academic achievement levels of graduating students experiencing homelessness.

There is a tendency by school districts to operate in isolation, which prevents productive collaboration on addressing the issue of children experiencing homelessness and the challenges of their education. The Cypress School District partially disagrees with the finding. The district does not have firsthand information on whether or not school districts in Orange County operate in isolation and, therefore, cannot wholly agree or wholly disagree with this finding. The district partially disagrees with this finding because it collaborates with its receiving high school district and with other McKinney-Vento Liaisons in neighboring Orange County school districts to better address the issue of students experiencing homelessness and the challenges of their education.

A significant lack of affordable permanent housing contributes to many families being caught in the cycle of homelessness. The Cypress School District agrees with the finding. Cypress School District's Response to the 2022-23 Orange County Grand Jury Report on The ABC's of Educating Children Experiencing Homelessness in Orange County August 18, 2023 While homelessness is a complex problem with many different causes, the district agrees that the lack of affordable permanent housing is one factor that contributes to the cycle of homelessness.