The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act is a federal law that discusses the public education of children and youth in temporary housing. Under McKinney-Vento and state law, students are considered to be in temporary housing if their nighttime residence is not fixed, regular, and adequate. Some examples of temporary housing include:

Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing

Economic hardship or other reasons

Living in Motels or Hotels

Trailer parks

Camping grounds

Living in Emergency or Transitional shelters

Abandoned in hospitals

Living a in public or private place not designed for sleeping

Living in cars

Parks

Abandoned buildings

Bus or Train stations, etc.

For more information on the McKinney-Vento Act please click on the links below:

NYSTEACHS- Quick Tip Series- Tips for Parents and Guardians- English

NYS TEACHS-Quick Tip Series - Tips for Parents and Guardians- Spanish

Information about Unaccompanied Youth

Unaccompanied youth is a student who is not the physical custody of their parent or legal guardian; this includes young people who have run away from home, have been kicked out of their homes, or have been abandoned by parents. There is no age limit for unaccompanied youth, but these students are most often in their teens. Unaccompanied youth are protected under the McKinney-Vento Act when the student also does not have a fixed, adequate, and regular nighttime residence,without a parent or guardian to help, these students may not know about their educational rights or know how to get information about their legal protections.

UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH

If I am living apart from my parents in a temporary housing situation, can I enroll in school without my parents?

YES. Unaccompanied youth DO NOT need a parent’s permission to enroll in school. School districts should enroll unaccompanied youth immediately.

Should a school district enroll a student who under 18 and is living with friends temporarily, but whose parents say they want the student to come home?

YES. Students who are not living with a parent or guardian and who are living in a temporary housing situation (in other words, a housing arrangement that is not fixed, regular and adequate) can enroll themselves in school even if their parent or guardian says they can return home. For many of these students, school is their only safe, nurturing environment for them. Schools should not refuse to enroll students in order to force them to go home or to punish them for leaving home.

Can a student go back to high school even though she is 20 years old and left school 2 years ago?

YES. All youth who have not received a high school diploma have the right to attend school through the school year when they turn 21, even if they have dropped out. Students who have earned GEDs can also return to school to work towards a regular diploma. There may be special programs just for older students who may not have a lot of credits in the district or the local BOCES. Contact your school district’s central administration or the LEA liaison to find out more about these programs.