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imum level set forth in subsection (c)(1) shall dis-
tribute not less than 50 percent in grants to local
educational agencies for the purposes of carrying out
section 723.
‘‘(2) USE BY STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—
A State educational agency may use funds made
available for State use under this subtitle to conduct
activities under subsection (f) directly or through
grants.
‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON SEGREGATING HOMELESS
STUDENTS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
subparagraph (B) and section 723(a)(2)(B)(ii),
in providing a free public education to a home-
less child or youth, no State receiving funds
under this subtitle shall segregate such child or
youth, either in a separate school or in a sepa-
rate program within a school, based solely on
such child’s or youth’s status as homeless.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—A State that operates
a separate school for homeless children as of
the day preceding the date of enactment of the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assist-
ance Improvements Act of 2001—
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‘‘(i) shall remain eligible to receive,
and to distribute to local educational agen-
cies, funds under this subtitle for such
school; and
‘‘(ii) shall not distribute to local edu-
cational agencies in the State any funds
received under this subtitle for use by any
such schools not in operation as of such
date of enactment.
‘‘(f) FUNCTIONS
OF
THE
OFFICE
OF
COORDI-
NATOR.—The Coordinator of Education of Homeless Chil-
dren and Youth established in each State shall—
‘‘(1) gather, to the extent possible, reliable,
valid, and comprehensive information on the nature
and extent of the problems homeless children and
youth have in gaining access to public preschool pro-
grams and to public elementary and secondary
schools, the difficulties in identifying the special
needs of such children and youth, any progress made
by the State educational agency and local edu-
cational agencies in the State in addressing such
problems and difficulties, and the success of the pro-
gram under this subtitle in assisting homeless chil-
dren and youth to enroll in, attend, and succeed in,
school;
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‘‘(2) develop and carry out the State plan de-
scribed in subsection (g);
‘‘(3) collect and transmit to the Secretary infor-
mation gathered pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2)
at such time and in such manner as the Secretary
may require;
‘‘(4) facilitate coordination between the State
educational agency, the State social services agency,
and other agencies providing services to homeless
children and youth, including homeless children, in-
cluding preschool-aged homeless children, and youth,
and families of such children and youth;
‘‘(5) in order to improve the provision of com-
prehensive education and related services to home-
less children and youth and their families, coordinate
and collaborate with—
‘‘(A) educators, including child develop-
ment and preschool program personnel;
‘‘(B) State and local providers of services
to homeless and runaway children and youth
and homeless families (including domestic vio-
lence agencies, shelter operators, transitional
housing facilities, runaway and homeless youth
centers, and transitional living programs for
homeless youth);
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‘‘(C) local educational agency liaisons for
homeless children and youth; and
‘‘(D) State and local community organiza-
tions and groups representing homeless children
and youth and their families; and
‘‘(6) provide technical assistance to local edu-
cational agencies, in coordination with local liaisons
designated under subsection (g)(1)(J)(ii), to ensure
that local educational agencies comply with the re-
quirements of paragraphs (3) through (7) of sub-
section (g).
‘‘(g) STATE PLAN.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall submit to
the Secretary a plan to provide for the education of
homeless children and youth within the State, which
plan shall—
‘‘(A) describe how such children and youth
are or will be given the opportunity to meet the
same 
challenging 
State 
student 
academic
achievement standards all students are expected
to meet;
‘‘(B) describe the procedures the State
educational agency will use to identify such chil-
dren and youth in the State and to assess their
special needs;
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‘‘(C) describe procedures for the prompt
resolution of disputes regarding the educational
placement of homeless children and youth;
‘‘(D) describe programs for school per-
sonnel (including principals, attendance officers,
teachers, enrollment personnel, and pupil serv-
ices personnel) to heighten the awareness of
such personnel of the specific needs of runaway
and homeless youth;
‘‘(E) describe procedures that ensure that
homeless children and youth who meet the rel-
evant eligibility criteria are able to participate
in Federal, State, or local food programs;
‘‘(F) describe procedures that ensure
that—
‘‘(i) homeless children have equal ac-
cess to the same public preschool pro-
grams, administered by the State agency,
as provided to other children;
‘‘(ii) homeless youth and youth sepa-
rated from the public schools are identified
and accorded equal access to appropriate
secondary education and support services;
and
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‘‘(iii) homeless children and youth
who meet the relevant eligibility criteria
are able to participate in Federal, State, or
local before- and after-school care pro-
grams;
‘‘(G) address problems set forth in the re-
port provided to the Secretary under subsection
(f)(3);
‘‘(H) address other problems with respect
to the education of homeless children and
youth, including problems caused by enrollment
delays that are caused by—
‘‘(i) immunization and medical records
requirements;
‘‘(ii) residency requirements;
‘‘(iii) lack of birth certificates, school
records, or other documentation;
‘‘(iv) guardianship issues; or
‘‘(v) uniform or dress code require-
ments;
‘‘(I) demonstrate that the State edu-
cational agency and local educational agencies
in the State have developed, and shall review
and revise, policies to remove barriers to the en-
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rollment and retention of homeless children and
youth in schools in the State; and
‘‘(J) contain assurances that—
‘‘(i) except as provided in subsection
(e)(3)(B), State and local educational
agencies will adopt policies and practices to
ensure that homeless children and youth
are not segregated solely on the basis of
their status as homeless;
‘‘(ii) local educational agencies will
designate an appropriate staff person, who
may also be a coordinator for other Fed-
eral programs, as a liaison for homeless
children and youth, to carry out the duties
described in paragraph (6)(A); and
‘‘(iii) the State and its local edu-
cational agencies will adopt policies and
practices to ensure that transportation is
provided, at the request of the parent or
guardian (or in the case of an unaccom-
panied youth, the liaison) to and from the
school of origin, as determined in para-
graph (3)(A), in accordance with the fol-
lowing, as applicable: