Liaison Toolkit
Revised to align with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
The Local Homeless Education Liaison Toolkit was designed by Project HOPE-Virginia staff for the National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) and a national audience to help school divisions fulfill their role in providing services to students experiencing homelessness. We have since adapted parts of the toolkit to be more specific to the needs of Virginia school divisions. The toolkit is available for download below. The supplemental documents listed below are the updated sections of Virginia's Homeless Education Liaison Toolkit.
In addition to these toolkit resources, NCHE produces guides and training resources to assist school divisions in implementing McKinney-Vento and for developing and evaluating quality programs for students experiencing homelessness. Some materials you will find on their website are:
- Local liaisons for homeless education - Liaison Listing
- Homeless Education Issue Briefs - in-depth focus on selected issues, such as:
- Best Practices in Homeless Education series
- Connecting Schools and Displaced Students series
- McKinney-Vento Law Into Practice series
- NCHE Brief: Important Information for New Local Liaisons
- National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) Homeless Liaison Toolkit- 2020 Edition (does not include Virginia Specific Information)
Additional information for Virginia liaisons
- McKinney-Vento Legislation
- ED Non-Regulatory Guidance
- Virginia's Best Interest Determination and Dispute Resolution Processes
- VDOE Attendance Strategies
- One-pager tip sheets for school staff:
Virginia Superintendent Memos:
- Memo #126-17: Changes under ESSA [pdf]
- Memo #215-17: Revisions to BID and Dispute Resolution Processes
- MEMO 215-17, Attachment A: McKinney-Vento Best Interest Determination for School Placement [pdf]
- MEMO 215-17, Attachment B: Written Explanation of McKinney-Vento Determination [pdf]
- MEMO 215-17, Attachment C: Dispute Resolution Process for Virginia Public Schools – Eligibility for McKinney-Vento Services [pdf]
- MEMO 215-17, Attachment D: Dispute Resolution Process for Virginia Public Schools – School Selection or Enrollment [pdf]
- Memo #283-19: Eligibility for Students not Residing with their parents [pdf]
