Housing Instability
If you are experiencing housing instability please contact Ty Cody, the school’s Homeless Liaison.
Educational Rights Poster (Parent):
English | Spanish
McKinney-Vento Act
Homelessness is defined as the lack of a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence; this includes individuals who:
temporarily live in a hotel, motel, trailer park or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
live in a car, park, public space, abandoned building, substandard housing, bus or train station; live in other public or private spaces not designed to accommodate regular sleeping for humans;
live in an emergency shelter or transitional housing;
have been abandoned in hospitals;
temporarily share housing with another household due to loss of housing or economic hardship;
are migratory and live in any of the circumstances described above;
are considered unaccompanied youth, i.e. not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian and live in any of the circumstances described above.
This definition includes students who are couch hopping and stay with friends or relatives
How does McKinney-Vento protect students?
Educational Stability
McKinney-Vento provisions provide stability for children and youth experiencing homelessness by ensuring that they are able to attend school, no matter where they live or how long they have lived there. According to each student’s best interest, eligible children and youth are able to remain in their school of origin or enroll in the school in the attendance area where the child or youth is temporarily living.
If a dispute arises over school selection or enrollment, the parent(s)/guardian(s)/unaccompanied youth has the right to appeal the district’s decision through a quick dispute resolution process. Until the dispute is resolved, the student must be immediately admitted or readmitted to the school in which enrollment is sought by the parent(s)/guardian(s)/unaccompanied youth.
Immediate Enrollment
Children and youth experiencing homelessness have the right to immediate enrollment in school, even if lacking documents normally required for enrollment, including proof of residence, birth certificate, guardianship documentation, previous school records or immunization records. Students have the right to participate fully in school while the required documents are gathered.
Children and youth experiencing homelessness have the right to a free, appropriate public education, including early intervention services.
School Nutrition
Students experiencing homelessness automatically qualify for free school meals. Once qualified, this benefit is valid for the entire school year.
School Transportation
To ensure school stability, students experiencing homelessness have access to the same transportation services to and from school as students who are permanently housed, even if living outside of the attendance area of the school of origin.
Resources for Independent or Shared Housing/Transportation