McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act) (42 U.S.C. § 11431-11435) is federal legislation that ensures the educational rights and protections of children and youth experiencing homelessness. It requires all local educational agencies (LEAs) to ensure that homeless students have access to the same free, appropriate public education, including public preschools, as provided to other children and youth. The McKinney-Vento Act defines LEAs as public school districts, direct-funded and locally funded charter schools, and county offices of education. The McKinney-Vento Act also authorizes the funding for the federal Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program.

Who Qualifies?

The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." The act provides examples of children who fall under this definition as:

Children and youth sharing housing due to loss of housing, economic hardship or similar reason
Children and youth living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations
Children and youth living in emergency or transitional shelters
Children and youth abandoned in hospitals
Children and youth whose primary nighttime residence is not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodations (e.g. park benches, etc.)
Children and youth living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations
Migratory children and youth living in any of the above situations

Under the McKinney-Vento Act you have a right to:

Enrolling in school immediately without the documents schools usually require, and without a parent or guardian
Receiving free school meals
Access to school supplies
Staying in the same school even if you move outside district boundaries
Transportation assistance

Assistance and Support

Alhambra Unified School District provides the following services for homeless students:

Opportunity to stay at the school of origin when it is in the best interest of the student
Ability to enroll immediately in school regardless of ability to produce immunization and residency paperwork
Transportation assistance to the school of origin when the student is relocated out of the boundaries for the school due to homelessness

To access these services, please contact the school office where your child attends and speak to the Bilingual School Community Coordinators (BSCC).