Under the McKinney-Vento Act, the term “homeless children and youth”— refers to individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence [42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2); and includes -- 

• Children and youth who are temporarily living with other people due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason 

• including those who are temporarily living with others due to natural disasters.

• Living in emergency or transitional shelters

• including domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters, youth shelters, housing paid for by programs such as Rapid Re-Housing, transitional living facilities, etc.

• Living in motels or hotels due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations, campgrounds, cars, parks, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, or any public or private place not designed for humans to live in.

• Living in substandard housing

• Migratory children living in above circumstances. [42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2)]

Students who are experiencing homelessness are to be enrolled immediately. Districts cannot require students experiencing homelessness to provide proof of residency, immunizations, birth certificates guardianship documents, or any other sort of required paperwork before enrolling. Requiring missing paperwork or any other delay to enrollment is a violation of the McKinney-Vento Act.