McKinney Vento Homeless

Homeless Education Services

The Intent of the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program is to remove all educational barriers facing children and youth experiencing homelessness, with an emphasis on educational enrollment, attendance, and success.

Qualifications

Children or youth that lack a fixed, regular, or adequate nighttime residence qualify for the program, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015. The age for individuals that can receive this qualification ranges from birth to 21 years old.

Share housing with other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason
Live in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations
Live in emergency or transitional shelters
Are abandoned in-hospital
Have a primary nighttime residence not designed for, or used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (storage units, garages, etc.)
Live in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings
Are migratory children living in the aforementioned circumstances
Are unaccompanied youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian

Children and youth experiencing homelessness have the right to:

Receive a free, appropriate public education
Enroll in school immediately, even if they are lacking documents normally required for enrollment
Enroll in a school and attend classes while the school gathers the required documents for registration
Enroll in the local school; or continue attending their school of origin (the school they attended while permanently housed, or the school in which they were last enrolled), if that is their preference
- If the school district believes that the school they select is not in the best interests of the children, then the district must provide a written explanation of its position and inform the parent/guardian/student of their right to appeal the decision
Receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if requested
Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to child’s needs