Homeless Liaison
The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act ensures the educational rights and protections of homeless children and youth so that they may enroll in school, attend regularly, and be successful. The legislation requires a local homeless education liaison in every school district to assist children and unaccompanied youth in their efforts to attend school.
Children who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime abode are eligible for McKinney-Vento services. In general, children or youth living in motels, transitional housing, shelters, the street, cars, abandoned buildings, and other inadequate accommodations may be considered eligible for McKinney- Vento services.
This Act guarantees homeless children and youth the following:
- The right to immediate enrollment in school, even if lacking paperwork normally required for enrollment
- The right to attend school in their school of origin or in the school in the attendance area where the family or youth is currently residing
- The right to receive transportation to their school of origin
- The right to services comparable to those received by housed schoolmates, including transportation and supplemental education services
- The right to an "equal playing field" and the removal of all barriers to receiving educational services
- The right to attend school along with children not experiencing homelessness. Segregation based on a student's status as homeless is strictly prohibited
updated 09/21/2023
DOCUMENTS & QUICK LINKS
McKinney-Vento Program Flyer