Homeless: McKinney-Vento

The McKinney-Vento Act program is designed to address the problems that students in transition have faced in enrolling, attending, and succeeding in school.

The McKinney-Vento Act is a federal law that assures children and youth who do not have permanent housing are provided full and equal access to school and school activities. It gives children and youth rights to enroll in school, stay in school, get transportation to school and gives access to school lunch programs. If you become aware of students who may qualify for services under the McKinney-Vento Act or are in need of services for students in your family, please contact the principal of your school or the Maize Educational Support Center at 316-722-0614 with this information.

The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) is committed to supporting Kansas school districts that serve students who are experiencing homelessness.

Who Is Homeless?
Educational Rights

Who Is Homeless?

Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Act defines the term “homeless children and youths” as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including:

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; or
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; or
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).

Definition of Terms:

Fixed: Stationary, permanent, not subject to change.
Regular: Used on a predictable routine, consistent basis.
Adequate: Lawfully and reasonably sufficient. Sufficient for meeting physical and psychological needs typically met in a home environment.

Educational Rights

Under the McKinney-Vento Act, homeless children and youth have the right to:

Receive a free, appropriate public education.
Enroll in school immediately, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment.
Enroll in school and attend classes while the school gathers needed documents.
Enroll in the local school; or continue attending the school of origin (the school they attended when permanently housed or the school in which they were last enrolled), according to each student’s best interest.
- If the school district believes that the school selected is not in the student’s best interest, the district must provide the parent, guardian or unaccompanied youth with a written explanation of its position and inform the parent, guardian or youth of the right to appeal its decision.
Receive transportation to and from the school of origin, if requested.
Receive educational services comparable to those provided to other students, according to each student’s needs.