McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

  • Students who are eligible for McKinney-Vento services are those that lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.  This includes students who are staying in a shelter, in a motel or campground due to the lack of an alternative adequate accommodation, in a car, park, abandoned building, or other location not ordinarily used for human habitation, students staying in substandard housing, students who have run away or have been thrown out of their home, and students sharing housing with other people due to the loss of housing caused by economic hardship or disaster.

    Students who meet this criteria qualify for a homeless status and have educational rights and protections under federal law, The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. 

McKinney-Vento Services

    • Removal of barriers to enrollment and school participation.  For example, obtaining birth certificates or other necessary records.
    • Transportation to and from school if eligible and requested and for extracurricular activities when feasible.
    • School supplies, clothes for school, hygiene and other daily living items.
    • Activity and field trip fees (when available).
    • Tutoring services (when available).
    • Case Management services: A solution-focused service for families and youth to remove barriers to stability. Services include but are not limited to:
      • One-on-one assistance and support
      • Front door housing assessments (a link to One Door and emergency shelter)
      • Navigation of housing solutions
      • Document ready (birth certificates, identification cards, social security cards)
      • Assistance with applications to mainstream benefits (SNAP, TANF, etc.)
      • Individualized goal-setting and long-term planning
      • Safe At Home application assistance
      • Access to a SOAR specialist for disability applications

McKinney-Vento Eligible Student Rights

    • Enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment.
    • Attend classes and actively participate in school activities while needed documents are being gathered.
    • Remain in the same school for the duration of the school year (if feasible and in the student’s best interest) even if he/she moves, or may enroll in the attendance area school where he/she is temporarily staying.

    *If the Homeless Liaison believes that the school selected is not in his/her best interest, then The Office of Students in Transition will provide the student with a written explanation of its position and inform the student of his/her right to appeal its decision.  This information for the appeal process can be found here.

    • Receive transportation to and from school if eligible and requested.
    • Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to the students’ needs.
    • Automatic enrollment in the free meal program.

    *A homeless status is awarded on a case by case basis and takes into consideration the permanency of the situation and each individual case.