• What is McKinney-Vento?

    The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act is a federal law that ensures immediate enrollment and educational stability for homeless children and youth. McKinney-Vento provides federal funding to states for the purpose of supporting district programs that serve homeless students.

    Definition of Homeless:

    The McKinney-Vento Act defines Homeless students as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and includes children and youth who are: 

    • Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason;
    • Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camp grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
    • Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
    • Abandoned in hospitals;
    • Awaiting foster care placement (placement considered short-term, unstable);
    • Living in public or private places not designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations for human beings;
    • Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;
    • Migratory and living in conditions described in the previous examples.
    • Unattended youth living in conditions described in the previous examples. 

     Rights of the Student: 

    • Immediate enrollment regardless of ability to present student records and immunizations
    • Assistance securing necessary school and medical documents, records, immunizations
    • Right to attend their school of origin or school of residence
    • Continued attendance at school of origin for remainder of school year after permanent housing is secured.
    • Equal access to programs available to other students (ELL, Title 1, Spec. Ed….)
    • Transportation to/from school of origin/residence
    • Free school meals
    • Referral to community resources and agencies

    Who do I contact to learn more?

    Sedro-Woolley School District Contact:

     Washington State Contact:

    • Melinda Dyer
    • Program Supervisor, Education of Homeless Children and Youth
    • Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
    • (360) 725-6050 or TTY (360) 664-3631
    • Melinda.Dyer@k12.wa.us

     To learn more about McKinney-Vento: