Homelessness

Resources for Students & Families Experiencing Homelessness

The McKinney-Vento Act defines a homeless child or youth as:

• A homeless child or youth ages 3-21;
• A child who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence and includes the following:
  • A child who is sharing the housing of others (includes doubled-up families) due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; is living in a motel, hotel, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; is living in an emergency or transitional shelter; is abandoned in a hospital
  • A child who has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for humans beings
  • A child who is living in a car, park, abandoned building, substandard housing, bus or train station, or similar setting; or
  • A migratory child/youth who qualifies as homeless because of the living circumstances described above
    • Includes youth who have runaway or youth being forced to leave home

Your eligible children are entitled to: 

• Receive a free, appropriate public education.
• Enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment.
• Enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents.
• Enroll in the local school, or continue attending the school they attended when permanently housed or the school in which they were last enrolled.
  • If the District believes that the school you select is not in the best interest of your children, then the District must provide you with a written explanation of its position and inform you of your right to appeal its decision.
• Receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if you request this.
• Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to your children’s needs.