Welcome to
No Child Left Behind
Homeless Students
The Homeless Education program is authorized under Title VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 USC 11431 et seq.). The McKinney-Vento Act was enacted to address the numerous barriers homeless children face in obtaining a free, appropriate public education. The program was originally authorized in 1987 and, most recently, reauthorized as Title X, Part C of the Federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The Act ensures educational rights and protections for children and youth experiencing homelessness including the following:
The right to immediate enrollment in school, even if lacking paperwork normally required for enrollment.
The right to attend school in his/her school of origin (if this is requested by the parent and is feasible) or in the school in the attendance area where the family or youth is currently residing.
The right to receive transportation to his/her school of origin, if this is requested by the parent.
The right to services comparable to those received by housed schoolmates, including transportation and supplemental educational services.
The right to attend school along with children not experiencing homelessness. Segregation based on a student’s status as homeless is strictly prohibited.
The posting of homeless students' rights in all schools and other places around the community.
In order to be eligible for services students must meet the definition of homelessness
The McKinney-Vento Act (Section 725) defines
“homeless children and youth”
As individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime
residence, including children and youth who are:
- Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
- Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping grounds, cars, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
- Living in emergency or transitional shelters;
- Abandoned in hospitals;
- Awaiting foster care placement;
- Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described above; or
- Unaccompanied youth, including youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian, such as runaways and youth denied housing by their families.
For more information regarding homeless education and services in DPS please go to the EOP homepage.
