The McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Program is the federal program that removes barriers to education for children and youth experiencing homelessness. The McKinney-Vento Definition of Homeless: means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime  residence. This includes children and youth who are:

• sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;

• staying in motels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to the lack of an adequate alternative;

• staying in shelters or transitional housing;

• or sleeping in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, or similar settings

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.