News Release

NEA Statement on Request to Waive McKinney-Vento Act for Students Affected by Hurricane Katrina

Law Protects Homeless Children from Segregation, Exclusion

Below is a statement from National Education Association President Reg Weaver on media reports that the U.S. Department of Education will be asking Congress to waive the requirements in the McKinney-Vento Act that protects homeless children from being excluded and segregated from public schools and requires schools to take in homeless children even if they don’t have proof of residence and other documentation:

WASHINGTON – “First and foremost, we need to make sure that the students displaced by Hurricane Katrina get access to high quality public schools. Providing them with the sense of normalcy and routine in their lives that schools can provide is essential to their sense of well-being and will help them deal with the traumatic events they have experienced.

“Before Congress grants a blanket waiver that creates a separate school system for displaced students, we need to use common sense and see if there really is a need to take such a drastic and potentially negative measure. We know from past experience that when it comes to schooling, separate does not mean equal.

“These students and their families have already been through so much, we should not treat them as outcasts but we should make them part of the community in their new homes.”

September 15, 2005

For More Information Contact:

Denise Cardinal, NEA Public Relations, (202) 822-7239

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.