Homeless Education

Overview

The federal McKinney-Vento “Education of Homeless Children and Youth Program” was developed to ensure that children and youth in homeless situations have equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including public preschool, as provided to other children and youth. 

In 1987, Congress enacted an omnibus bill to provide assistance to growing numbers of homeless people nationwide: the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act. Programs and funding under the McKinney Act went to several offices, including Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Education. 

The Act was reauthorized in 1994 as the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

Under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the Homeless Education Program became “Title X.” Districts receiving Title I-A funds are also required under the NCLB to reserve a portion of their I-A funds for services to homeless children and youth, particularly those in non-Title I-A recipient schools.

Definition

The McKinney-Vento Act defines “homeless children and youth” as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The term includes:

Children and youth who are:

• sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (sometimes referred to as doubled-up);
• living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
• living in emergency or transitional shelters;
• abandoned in hospitals; or
• awaiting foster care placement;

Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;

Children and youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and

Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above.

Requirements

The McKinney-Vento Act provides certain rights for homeless students. They include waiving certain requirements such as proof of residency when students are enrolling and allowing categorical eligibility for certain services, such as free textbooks. The Act also states:

• Homeless students may attend their school of origin or the school where they are temporarily residing.
• Homeless students must be provided a written statement of their rights when they enroll and at least two times per year.
• Homeless students may enroll without school, medical, or similar records.
• Homeless students have a right to transportation to school.
• Students must be provided a statement explaining why they are denied any service or enrollment.
• Students must receive services, such as transportation, while disputes are being settled.
• Students are automatically eligible for Title I services.
• School districts must reserve a portion of Title IA funds to serve homeless students.
• School districts must review and revise policies that provide barriers to homeless students.
• Schools must post information in the community regarding the rights of homeless students, in schools and other places that homeless families may frequent.
• School districts must identify a McKinney-Vento Liaison to assist students.