1. The McKinney-Vento Act: Knowing and Implementing the Law
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2. Today’s Goals
Become familiar with important concepts in the McKinney-Vento Act
Eligibility
Immediate Enrollment
School Selection
Transportation
Unaccompanied Youth
Coordination with Title IA
Learn good practices and implementation strategies by networking with colleagues

3. NON-REGULATORY GUIDANCE

4. Who Qualifies For Services?
Children or youth who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including:
Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason (“doubling up”)
Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping grounds due to the lack of adequate alternative accommodations
Living in emergency or transitional shelters
Abandoned in hospitals

5. Who Qualifies? (cont.) Awaiting foster care placement
Living in a public or private place not designed for humans to live
Living in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or a similar setting
Migratory children living in the above circumstances
Unaccompanied youth living in the above circumstances

6. Determining Eligibility: The Ground Rules
Reference NCHE’s Determining Eligibility and Confirming Eligibility briefs at
Determinations are made on a case-by-case basis by examining the living arrangement of each child or youth
Some instances will be clear-cut; others will require further inquiry and then a judgment call

7. Determining Eligibility: The Ground Rules (cont.)
Use fixed, regular, and adequate as your guiding principles; if the living arrangement does not meet all three criteria, it likely will be considered a homeless situation
The list of examples given in the definition describes common homeless situations, but is not exhaustive

8. Determining Eligibility: Fixed, Regular, and Adequate
Fixed: Stationary, permanent, and not subject to change
Regular: Used on a predictable, routine, or consistent basis (e.g., nightly); consider the relative permanence
Adequate: Sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in home environments
Consider: Can the student go to the SAME PLACE (fixed) EVERY NIGHT (regular) to sleep in a SAFE AND SUFFICIENT SPACE (adequate)?

9. Determining Eligibility: The Process
Step 1: Get the facts
Sample enrollment questionnaires can be found at
Step 2: Analyze the facts
Does the living situation fit into one of the specific examples of homelessness listed in the law?
Is the living arrangement another type of situation that is not fixed, regular, and adequate?
What do the facts tell me?

10. Determining Eligibility: The Process (cont.)
Step 3: Get Additional Input
Contact your State Coordinator:
Michael Williams or
Visit: for contact information
Contact the NCHE helpline at or

11. Determining Eligibility: “Doubled-up”
McKinney-Vento defines “doubled-up” as “sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason”
Considerations:
Why did the family move in together? Due to a crisis or by mutual choice as a plan for mutual benefit?
How permanent is the living arrangement intended to be?
Where would the family live if not doubling up?
Is the living arrangement fixed, regular, and adequate?

12. Determining Eligibility: Awaiting Foster Care Placement
Children in foster care face high residential and school mobility, academic challenges, educational discontinuity
Eligibility must be reviewed in the context of state and local child welfare policies; check with your State Coordinator for information relevant to your state
Use “fixed, regular, and adequate” as your guiding concepts

13. School Selection
Students experiencing homelessness have the right to attend one of two schools:
Local Attendance Area School
Any public school that students living in the same attendance area are eligible to attend
School of Origin
The school attended when permanently housed; or
The school in which the student was last enrolled

14. School Selection (cont.)
For school selection, a “best interest” determination must occur; ideally, the parents/guardians and school dialogue and come to an agreement; if there is a disagreement, the dispute resolution process is used
Best interest: keep homeless students in their schools of origin, to the extent feasible, unless this is against the parent’s or guardian’s wishes
Students can continue attending their school of origin the entire time they are homeless, and until the end of any school year in which they move into permanent housing
If a student becomes homeless in between school years, he or she can continue attending the school of origin for the following school year

15. School of Origin and Feasibility
Feasibility factors listed in U.S. Department of Education Guidance:
The age of the child or youth
The distance of a commute and the impact it may have on the student's education
Personal safety issues
A student's need for special instruction (e.g., special education and related services)
The length of anticipated stay in a temporary shelter or other temporary location
The time remaining in the school year

16. How Is Feasibility Determined?
Reference NCHE’s Guiding the Discussion on School Selection brief at
The child’s best interest is at the forefront
Determining best interest is a case-by-case determination
There is no specific time or distance limit placed on transporting a homeless child to the school of origin; consider the unique situation of the student and how the transportation will affect the student’s education

17. Enrollment
States and districts must develop, review, and revise policies to remove barriers to the school enrollment and retention of homeless children and youth
McKinney-Vento defines enrollment as attending classes and participating fully in school activities
The McKinney-Vento Act supersedes state or local law or practice when there is a conflict [U.S. Constitution, Article VI]

18. Enrollment (cont.)
Homeless children and youth have the right to enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documentation normally required for enrollment
If a student does not have immunizations, or immunization or medical records, the local liaison must assist immediately in obtaining them, and the student must be enrolled in the interim

19. Eligible or Not?
Mike and his son, Ken, showed up at your school at the beginning of the year to enroll Ken. Included in your district’s enrollment packet is a housing questionnaire. On the questionnaire, Mike checked “yes” to the question regarding sharing housing, indicating that they are living with Mike’s parents who live in the area. Would you qualify Ken for McKinney-Vento?
Eligible?
Would you like to have additional information? If so, what questions would you ask?
Questions?

20. Transportation
Districts must transport homeless students to and from the school of origin, at a parent’s or guardian’s request (or at the liaison’s request for unaccompanied youth)
If the student’s temporary residence and the school of origin are in the same district, that district must arrange transportation
If the student is living outside the district of origin, the district where the student is living and the district of origin must determine how to divide the responsibility and cost, or they must share the responsibility and cost equally

21. Transportation (cont.)
Districts must provide students in homeless situations with transportation services comparable to those provided to other students
Districts can consider other safe transportation options beyond the school bus

22. Young Homeless Children
State McKinney-Vento plans must describe procedures that ensure that homeless children have access to public preschool programs
Local liaisons must ensure that families and children have access to Head Start, Even Start, and other public preschool programs administered by the school district
The Head Start Act includes many provisions for serving young homeless children; visit childhood for more information
IDEA and McKinney-Vento staff must work together to ensure that young homeless children who may need special education services are identified, evaluated, and served (IDEA’s Child Find provision)

23. Unaccompanied Youth: The Basics
An unaccompanied youth’s living arrangement must meet the Act’s definition of homeless for him/her to qualify for McKinney-Vento services
The McKinney-Vento Act defines unaccompanied youth as a youth “not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian”
Local liaisons must support unaccompanied youth in school selection and dispute resolution processes

24. Unaccompanied Youth: The Basics (cont.)
“Age limits”
Lower: There is no lower age limit for unaccompanied youth
Upper: The upper age limit (as with all McKinney- Vento eligible students) is your state’s upper age limit for public education
A youth can be eligible regardless of whether he/she was asked to leave the home or “chose” to leave; sometimes there is “more than meets the eye” for youth’s home life situations

25. The School’s Charge
Schools first and foremost are educational agencies
The school’s primary responsibility and goal is to enroll and educate, in accordance with the McKinney-Vento Act (federal); federal law supersedes state and local law
Schools do not need to understand and/or agree with all aspects of a student’s home life to educate him/her

26. Who are Unaccompanied Children and Youth Under the McKinney-Vento Act?
Unaccompanied Youth: children and Youth experiencing homelessness and not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.
Is there an age range?
No. McKinney-Vento applies to all school-aged children and youth as defined by state law.
Is there a citizenship requirement?
No. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe (1982) makes it unlawful for schools to deny access to undocumented immigrants or ask about immigration status. McKinney-Vento must be equally applied to undocumented students.

27. Who are Unaccompanied Children and Youth in your Community?
Family Separation
Parental Incarceration
Illness, hospitalization, death
Economics
Youth are leaving home or being asked to leave to free up resources for younger siblings.
Pregnancy
10% of currently homeless female teenagers are pregnant.
Abuse/Neglect
20-40% were sexually abused in their homes.
40-60% were physically abused.
21-53% have a history of child welfare placement.
Family Dysfunction
Over 2/3 of callers to the Runaway Hotline report at least one parent abuses drugs or alcohol.
Over ½ of youth living in shelters report that their parents told them to leave or didn’t care.
Many youth have been thrown out because of their sexual orientation (20-40% identify as GLBTQ).

28. Eligible or Not?
Ashley shows up at your school to enroll herself without an adult. She tells you that she can’t get along with her stepdad and had to leave home. Her mom calls the school and says Ashley just wants to live with her boyfriend. Would you qualify Ashley for McKinney-Vento?
Eligible?
Would you like to have additional information? If so, what questions would you ask?
Questions?

29. Unaccompanied Youth: Strategies
Reference NCHE’s When Legal Guardians Are Not Present brief at
Develop caretaker forms, self-enrollment forms, and/or other forms to replace typical proof of guardianship; forms should be crafted carefully so they do not create further barriers or delay enrollment; visit for sample forms
Become familiar with state and local policies related to unaccompanied youth (medical signature authority and reporting)
Be willing to be flexible with students and provide extra supports

30. The Title IA Set-Aside: The Basics
Title IA of ESEA requires districts to set aside Title IA funds to be used to serve homeless students; there is no federally mandated amount/method of calculation
Homeless students are automatically eligible for Title IA services, even if they don’t attend a Title IA school or meet the academic standards required of other students for eligibility
Homeless students are eligible to receive Title IA support for the rest of any academic year in which they become permanently housed

31. Using Title IA Set-Aside Funds
Set-aside funds can be used to provide:
Services to homeless students attending Title IA or non-Title IA schools that are comparable to those provided to non-homeless students in Title I schools
Services to homeless students that are not ordinarily provided to other Title I students and that are not available from other sources, according to the need of the homeless student (e.g., comparable may not mean identical)
Title I funds should be used to support the student in meeting the state’s academic standards

32. Permissible Usages: ARRA Guidance
Used only when not available from other sources
Partial list:
Clothing/shoes (school uniform/dress code/gym uniform)
Fees to participate in the general education program
School supplies
Birth certificates necessary to enroll in school
Medical/dental services (glasses, hearing aids, immunizations)
Counseling for issues affecting learning
Outreach services to students living in shelters, motels, and other temporary residences
Extended learning time or tutoring support
Supporting parent involvement
Supporting the position of the local liaison
Full guidance: (see question G-11) www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/guidance/titlei-reform.pdf

33. Prohibited Usages of Funds
Transportation to/from the school of origin for the regular school day
Rent
Utilities
Clothing for parents

34. Access to Services
Homeless students are automatically eligible to receive free school meals; the USDA permits local liaisons and shelter directors to qualify homeless students for free meals by providing a list of names with effective dates
IDEA includes special provisions for serving homeless children and youth with disabilities; visit for more information
Undocumented students have the right to attend public school (Plyler v. Doe) and are covered by the McKinney-Vento Act to the same extent as other eligible students

35. Local Liaisons
Local liaisons play a critical role in the implementation of the McKinney-Vento Act
Every school district must designate a local homeless education liaison.
Local liaison responsibilities include:
Identifying homeless children and youth
Ensuring that homeless students can enroll immediately and participate fully in school

36. Local Liaisons (cont.)
Informing parents, guardians, or youth of educational rights
Supporting unaccompanied youth in school selection and dispute resolution
Linking homeless students with educational and other services, including preschool and health services
Ensuring the public posting of educational rights through the school district and community; NCHE Educational Rights Posters are available at
Ensuring that disputes are resolved promptly
Collaborating with other district programs and community agencies

37. Get to Know NCHE…
NCHE is the U.S. Department of Education’s homeless education technical assistance and information center
NCHE has:
A comprehensive website:
A toll-free helpline: Call or
A listserv: visit for subscription instructions
Free resources : Visit

38. Get to know NAEHCY … National Assn
Get to know NAEHCY … National Assn. for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) is the voice and social conscience for the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. NAEHCY accomplishes this through advocacy, partnerships, and education.
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39. Dispute Resolution
Whenever a dispute arises, the parent, guardian, or youth must be provided with a written explanation of the school’s decision, including the right to appeal
The school must refer the parent, guardian, or youth to the local liaison to carry out the dispute resolution process as expeditiously as possible, in accordance with the state plan

40. Dispute Resolution (cont.)
While a dispute is being resolved, the student must be admitted immediately into the requested school and provided with services
Documentation should be kept for all local liaison interventions with parents, and not just formal disputes

41. For more information
State Coordinator for Homeless Education: NCHE website: NCHE helpline: or NCHE National Partner: National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY):
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