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Thank You, Sandra Plantz

INTRODUCTION

Children and youth experiencing homelessness face unique challenges in accessing and succeeding in school. Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, reauthorized in 2015 by Title IX, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act (42 U.S.C. § 11431 et seq.; hereafter the McKinney-Vento Act), establishes the definition of homeless used by U.S. public schools, and the educational rights to which children and youth experiencing homelessness are entitled. For schools to be able to provide services to students in homeless situations, they first must be able to identify these students. To this end, an effective understanding of the McKinney-Vento definition of homeless is a key first step to ensuring the delivery of needed supports to some of our nation’s most vulnerable students.

MCKINNEY-VENTO DEFINITION OF HOMELESS 42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2)

The term “homeless children and youth”— A. means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence....and includes...

• children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;

• are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;

• are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;

• children and youths 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 youths 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 for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).

• as well as Unaccompanied Youth- The McKinney-Vento Act defines unaccompanied youth as “a homeless child or youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian” [42 USC § 11434a(6)]. Taking a closer look at the definition, two conditions must be present for a child or youth to be considered an unaccompanied youth under the McKinney-Vento Act.

  • 1. The child’s or youth’s living arrangement meets the Act’s definition of homeless, and

  • 2. The child or youth is not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.

To this end, McKinney-Vento students, including unaccompanied youth, have the right to

• receive a free, appropriate public education;

• enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment, or having missed application or enrollment deadlines during any period of homelessness;

• enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents;

• continue attending the school of origin1 , or enroll in the local attendance area school if attending the school of origin is not in the best interest of the student or is contrary to the request of the parent, guardian, or unaccompanied youth2 ;

• receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if requested by the parent or guardian, or by