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Homeless Education

Homeless Assistance

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness. Its key theme is to ensure every child and youth experiencing homelessness has equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, as other children and youth. The law states that schools must eliminate barriers to enrollment, attendance, and success in school for homeless students.

Student rights under McKinney-Vento include:

  • Immediate Enrollment - No prior records are needed, but should be obtained by the enrolling school as quickly as possible.
  • School Stability - Including the right to remain in the school of origin or attend the school in the area where they are currently spending their nights for the duration of their homelessness or by parent's request.
  • Equal Access to All Programs - Such as Special Education, Migrant Education, English Language Development Programs, etc.
  • Transportation to/from School - If transportation creates a barrier to attendance.
  • Automatic qualification for free and reduced meals
  • Automatic qualification for Title I services

 

Please contact your school office if you are experiencing housing instability and would like to complete a hard copy version of the housing questionnaire/homeless affidavit.

  • "Homeless children and youth" refers to "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime resident." This definition includes:

    • Children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason.
    • Children who may be living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or shelters.
    • Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
    • Children and youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings.
    • Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are children who are living in similar circumstances listed above.