Brea Olinda Unified School District's Response to the 2022-23 Orange County Grand Jury Report on*

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 District wholly disagrees with the finding. The District cannot verify that "many" children in Orange County experiencing homelessness are not identified as such and therefore do not receive McKinney-Vento services. As it relates to children experiencing homelessness in our District, the District wholly disagrees with this finding as the scope of this under-identification is hard to quantify Deana Miller, President · Paul Ruiz, Vice President/Clerk · Chris Becerra, Ed.D. · Carrie Flanders · Gail Lyons BOARD TRUSTEES: Brinda C. Leon, Superintendent · Phil D'Agostino, Ed.D., Asst. Supt./ Educational Services ADMINISTRATION: Richard Champion, Asst. Supt./ Business Services · Valerie Rogers, Ph.D., Asst. Supt./ Human Resources The Honorable Maria D. Hernandez Presiding Judge, Orange County Superior Court 09/23/2023

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 District agrees with this finding.

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 District agrees with this finding. Funding disparities between districts based on the state's funding formula contributes to unequal access.

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 District agrees with this finding.

Many McKinney-Vento Liaisons lack needed experience due to a high turnover rate in those positions. The District wholly disagrees with the finding. The District does not have firsthand information regarding the experience and turnover rate for McKinney-Vento Liaisons throughout the county and, therefore, cannot take an authoritative position on this statement.

McKinney-Vento Act training is not mandatory for the majority of McKinney-Vento Liaisons. The District agrees with this finding. The Honorable Maria D. Hernandez Presiding Judge, Orange County Superior Court 09/23/2023

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 District wholly disagrees with the finding. Because the District is a unified school district serving grades TK-12, the District does not have firsthand information regarding this finding and, therefore, cannot agree with this finding.

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 District agrees with this finding.

School districts that do not apply for grants which fund programs benefiting children experiencing homelessness miss potential revenue opportunities. The District agrees with this finding.

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 District agrees with this finding. The demands on Title I funds far exceed the needs of schools that receive them.

A lack of reliable transportation for children experiencing homelessness often results in chronic tardiness and absenteeism. The District agrees with this finding. The Honorable Maria D. Hernandez Presiding Judge, Orange County Superior Court 09/23/2023

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

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 District agrees with this finding.

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 District partially disagrees with the finding. As it relates to our interaction with other school districts, the District partially disagrees with this finding because there are county collaboration meetings (and these are helpful) but coordination between districts (especially smaller ones) would be beneficial if resources could be pooled and shared for greater efficiency.

A significant lack of affordable permanent housing contributes to many families being caught in the cycle of homelessness. The District agrees with this finding. The Honorable Maria D. Hernandez Presiding Judge, Orange County Superior Court 09/23/2023