• What is McKinney-Vento? Are you in a temporary/ transitional living situation due to economic hardship?

    The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act is a federal law that ensures immediate enrollment and educational stability for homeless children and young people. 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 young people who are:

    • Sharing the housing of other people due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reasons;
    • Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or campgrounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
    • Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
    • Abandoned in hospitals;
    • 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.
    • Unaccompanied 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 the remainder of the school year after permanent housing is secured.
    • Equal access to programs available to other students (ELL, Title 1, Spec. Ed….)
    • Transportation to/from the school of origin/residence
    • Free school meals
    • Referral to community resources and agencies

    Who do I contact to learn more?

    Laura Schmidt

    District McKinney-Vento Liaison

    360-855-3540

    lschmidt@swsd101.org

     

    Jill True

    Secretary

    360-855-3553

    jtrue@swsd101.org

     

    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: