Students Experiencing Homelessness: McKinney-Vento Act

• Receive a free public education
• Enroll in school immediately, even if you lack documents normally required for enrollment
• Attend classes while the school gathers your missing documents
• Enroll in the school closest to you or the school you were last enrolled in (school of origin), even if you have been forced to relocate
• Receive transportation to and from your school of origin
• Receive all the same educational services other students receive, even if you can't pay
• Participate in before and after school programs
• Receive counseling
• Receive free breakfast and lunch
• Participate in special education, bilingual vocational and gifted programs as qualified
• Receive school supplies
• Receive extra academic support through Title I funding
• Receive evaluation for any disabilities

​​​The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence."

The act provides examples of children who fall under this definition as:

• Children and youth sharing housing due to loss of housing, economic hardship or similar reason
• Children and youth living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations
• Children and youth living in emergency or transitional shelters
• Children and youth abandoned in hospitals
• Children and youth whose primary nighttime residence is not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodations (e.g. park benches, etc.)
• Children and youth living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations
• Migratory children and youth living in any of the above situations.​