Homeless

by Kent Sherrow

(McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 2001 – Title X, Part C, of the No Child Left Behind Act – Sec 725)

The term “homeless children and youth”

1. means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and dequate nighttime residence…; and
2. includes
   1.  children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
   2. 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…
   3. children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
   4. 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).

3. Educational rights

   Under the McKinney-Vento Act, children in homeless situations have the right to:

   • Go to school, no matter where they live or how long they have lived there
   • Attend either the local school or the school of origin, if this is in their best interest; the school of origin is the school the child attended when he/she was permanently housed or the school in which the child was last enrolled
   • Receive transportation to and from the school of origin
   • Enroll in school immediately, even if missing records and documents normally required for enrollment such as a birth certificate, proof of residence, previous school records, or immunization/medical records
   • Enroll, attend classes, and participate fully in all school activities while the school arranges for the transfer of records
   • Have access to the same programs and services that are available to all other students including transportation and supplemental educational services
   • Attend school with children not experiencing homelessness; segregation based on a student’s status as homeless is prohibited

   All questions regarding homeless students and school support services should be directed to counselor’s office.